An All American Love Story
by Kat58
Summary: After becoming more then friends Romano and Corday get close to one another. However a secret one of them holds will lead to betrayal and....{ok well i stink at summaries but it will be fuzz and agnst packed! so if you like Cordano this is for you!}
1. I'm Fine

An All American Love Story Ch. One: "I'm Fine"  
  
Ok all.here we go. let's make this quick. No I don't own anything and no I don't believe that I am ripping anything off from anything {if I cam let me know} I just hope you all are patient with me and enjoy the story. This is just a little off from what happened on the real show {since otherwise Romano would be dead and we wouldn't have a story.} but regardless of that, I hope you just go with it.  
  
It was a colder night than usual. But then again Chicago winters seemed to get colder every year. Elizabeth had the night shift and she was just about to leave home. "I put the trash out, I have my purse, I called the sitter." Elizabeth talked to herself as she went through her checklist. She had always done silly little things like that ever since she was young. Once she finally got down to leaving she realized that she was going to be late.  
  
"Damn" she said as the El-train stalled again. The drivers had wanted to go slowly because of all the ice that had accumulated on the track, yet this had caused it to stall four times already, turning a five minute train ride into a thirty minute disaster. She was almost running down the stairs of the station once she got off of the train. The frigid wind ripped across her face and painfully stung her eyes. As the sight of the ambulance bay came into her vision she took off at an all out run. Elizabeth concentrated on avoiding the snow yet she forgot about the ice. As soon as she reached the entrance of the ambulance bay she was launched backwards as her feet slipped out from under her body. She hit the pavement with a smack. "Bloody hell!" A cold sing resonated throughout her body and she gasped for breath. Instead of getting up right away she laid on the ground assessing her injury. Right as Elizabeth had figured out that nothing was broken and she didn't have a concussion she heard a familiar voice coming from the side of her.  
"Lizzy! Are you ok? You took a pretty bad header there."  
  
"Great" she thought. "The only thing worse then falling is having Romano see you do it." "I'm fine." She stated sternly. Disregarding his outstretched hand she got up on her own. Dusting herself off she was searching for an excuse for why she had fallen. Elizabeth raised her head to look Romano in the face but he was already walking back to where he had been standing. She too walked over, only a few feet behind him and passed her eyes over the memorial of pictures and flowers. After waiting a few moments she turned to walk away. As she almost reached the door to the hospital she looked back and watched as Romano put something down among the flowers and then shuffled down the block in the direction of his parked car.  
  
It was the start of a horrid night. She could tell that something was bothering him since he hadn't made his usual snippy remarks. She was torn between the decision to be a good person and talk to him or to make her life easier and go into work.  
  
"Robert wait!" Elizabeth yelled. She walked towards him and started to speak again. "Are you ok?" she asked as she passed the memorial. It was only then that she saw what he had laid down. It was a picture of him, her and Anspaugh that had been taken about a year ago.  
  
"I'm fine." He muttered as he worked on getting his keys out of his pocket. Elizabeth again looked at the door of the hospital. It would be so easy to have a quiet night studying charts and not have to deal with someone else's problems. But there was something in his voice that made her stay.  
  
"Robert." Elizabeth started again, not wanting to sound overly concerned. "Would you like to join me for a walk?" Romano looked at Elizabeth, searching her face for any hidden agenda. After looking at her for a good thirty seconds he finally answered.  
  
"Why not." 


	2. Strolls and Snowball Fights

An All American Love Story Chapter two: Strolls and Snowball Fights  
  
After agreeing he placed his keys back into his pocket. "Where are we walking Lizzy?"  
  
"I don't know. let's just talk."  
  
After walking about a block in silence Elizabeth finally broke the ice. " So I haven't seen you much lately, anything new going on?" Awkwardly Romano shook his head. "No, just working on perfecting the flute and other fine instruments." Elizabeth sighed; it was like him to doge her questions. She wished he had seen someone after he lost his arm. After walking further in silence Romano finally stopped. "Ok Lizzy, are you going to tell me why you have delayed my departure for home or are we going to walk until we both turn into human ice icicles?" For the first time that night Romano really looked at her face. After Mark had died she had looked different to him. Not in a bad way. She just had the look of someone who was empty. Someone like him.  
  
Elizabeth chose her words carefully; she already knew how Romano could turn around the smallest sentence. "Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to talk. You have seemed pretty distant lately. Especially after Anspaugh's death." Romano rolled his eyes, "Christ Elizabeth, if I wanted to vent all my feelings I would pick someone besides you!" His voice was hard and rough. Realizing what he had just said he quickly looked for different words, "No, that's not what I meant." he said in a softer tone. "I just.I wouldn't make you sit through all of my problems, as of lately you don't need any more of them." Adding a slight chuckle on the end of the remark he tried to make the moment less intimate. Elizabeth just nodded, "Robert, you can always talk to me. That's what friends do." After saying that she reached over and touched his left shoulder. "So do you have anything you want to talk about?" Romano's muscles instinctively tightened against her touch. He thought over her question carefully, he could easily tell her how he was so lonely and wanted someone to be with for Christmas. Or how, even though he hated Anspaugh, it made him so deeply upset that the last things he had said to him had been hurtful and malicious. However, being the shy man he was he reached for a joke instead. "No, I hate you." He said with a half a smile. "Come on Dr. Laura, I'm walking back to my car." He turned and after a few steps he heard a grunt. A few seconds later Romano felt a stinging impact on the back of his neck. Reaching back, he touched the ball of ice that had just been hurled at his head. "What the." he was cut off as he turned around. Another snowball hit him in the face and he quickly threw his hands up. "Geeze.ok, ok I surrender! What are you doing?" "You bastard." Elizabeth replied, "you get no sympathy from me." Laughing she balled up another snowball and threw it Romano's way. This time it missed. Romano grabbed a handful of snow and grinned at Elizabeth. "No mercy now!" he yelled as he chased her down the street.  
  
After about an hour of throwing snow and sliding on the ice, they were both sufficiently tired. "Wow," Romano said looking down at his clothes, "I am now soaking wet and it must be ten degrees out here." Laughing Elizabeth said, "Yeah but I burned off that snickers bar I had for lunch today." After another moment of sitting they both stood up at the same time. "Didn't you have to work tonight?" Romano asked. Grinning she responded, "Well, lets just say I blew it off for some personal time with a friend." Without a word Romano stuck out his hand, asking her to lead the way back to the hospital. "Well, since I pretty much killed you in snowball fighting can I give you a ride home?" Hearing Romano say that Elizabeth realized that they had reached his car. "Come on, you don't want to get on the El soaking wet do you? I mean, there's no reason in going to work now is there?"  
  
Romano drove down the winding street. He had never been on this side of town before. It surprised him the subtle difference between uptown and downtown Chicago. "So which house is yours again?" Elizabeth looked over at her driver, "The fourth one from the back." She stated. This had been the third time she had told him. As Romano pulled into her driveway he put the car into park but left it running. He didn't expect an invitation but he was trying to stall long enough to figure out what he was going to say. As Elizabeth opened the door he finally spoke. "Elizabeth." Shocked at hearing her whole name she sat back in the car. "Are you on tomorrow?" Elizabeth quickly thought and then shook her head. "Actually no, I'm not on until next Monday." Slowly she asked the next question, "Why?" Dropping his gaze from hers Romano looked to his hands. "Well I was wondering if. I mean I'm off too so if. if you wanted to talk again tomorrow. We could do whatever you wanted." He brought his gaze up to hers again with a shy grin creeping onto his lips. Elizabeth tried not to look as shocked as she felt. As she was about to say no she thought back on the past two hours. They had been the first in a long time that she hadn't felt overwhelmed with stress or fear. However, this was Romano, the man she had been trying to avoid for so many years. But there was just something about the past few hours that made her curious. Stepping out of the car again she confidently stated, "Sure." After thinking on the issue more she spoke again. "How about you meet me here at noon? If you can remember the address." Smiling ear-to-ear Romano could barely nod.  
  
"Noon it is." Knowing he should say something else he stuck his head out the window as she reached the door. "Hey Lizzy!" She turned at the sound of his voice. "There are better ways to blow off work then getting your ass kicked in snowball fights!" Elizabeth waved as he drove off. She didn't know if accepting his invitation was a mistake or not. She knew she should call him and cancel, but all she could do was smile. 


	3. Off to the Ice Capades

An All American Love Story Ch. 3: Off to the Icecapades  
  
It was a quarter until noon when Elizabeth heard her doorbell ring. She had just finished getting dressed and looked hard into the mirror before making her way to the door. She had her hair half up and curled to perfection. Light makeup along with a deep blue wool skirt and sweater made perfect attire for just about anything.so she thought.  
  
When Elizabeth answered the door she was shocked. She was always so use to seeing Romano in a suit or scrubs, anything else looked odd. She blinked her eyes and looked at him again. He was dressed in hiking boots, which was understandable because of the snow, blue jeans, an off white tee shirt and a long black jacket that reached his knees. As the wind blew again he pulled down on his baseball cap and waited for an invitation inside. "Hey Lizzy! I'm not to early am I?" realizing he had asked a question she quickly searched her brain for the proper response. "Not at all, come inside." Perfect.  
  
Elizabeth quickly sprung into action as to not keep him standing in her hallway too long. Once inside Romano took a moment to look around. "You have a beautiful home." This made her stop for a second. "Thank you Robert. I'm sorry, I'll be ready in a second." Romano smiled, "Take your time." After finally finishing a few last minute chores she sighed, "I think I'm ready." She knew Ella was safely with her babysitter and Rachel was with her mom this holiday. As reluctant as she knew she must have appeared, Elizabeth was ready to think about something else then work or kids. Motioning for Elizabeth to lead the way they both climbed into his car. "So Lizzy I am really glad you decided to come with me. It would have been a boring weekend otherwise." Romano stated with a smile as he carefully put his arm behind her headrest and backed out of her driveway. Searching for a conversation starter Elizabeth looked around his car. It was impeccably clean, spotless even. Memories of Ella's cracker crumbs and her smoothie from two days ago sprang into mind as she thought of her own. Looking more at Romano she realized that he looked just as tidy. His smooth jaw line was freshly shaved, as were his sideburns. She could faintly smell a nice cologne and soap sent coming from him too. Her eyes moved from his face up to his hat. It was badly worn and the black was faded almost to a gray. After pausing at the logo she didn't recognize the mascot. "What's on your hat Robert?" Reaching up from the steering wheel he touched it as if trying to remember. "Oh. It's the 76ers." Looking quickly over at her and realizing she didn't have a clue he added more. "The Philadelphia 76ers. You know, the basketball team?" Elizabeth smiled and nodded trying to keep the conversation going. "Oh, I didn't know you were a basketball fan." Pressing his lips together and semi nodding he continued, "Well I'm not really. I like baseball better but I've had this hat since I was young. I use to always wear it back home, it's hard now in Chicago."  
  
"Where is home for you?"  
  
"Philly. Born and raised. I only moved here after college."  
  
" I didn't know that Robert, I always thought you were from Chicago." Elizabeth enjoyed learning new things about Romano since he hardly ever gave out personal information without a fight. "Well we're here." He said as he put the car into park. Elizabeth hadn't even noticed. She was surprised to be caught up in such a pointless conversation. Elizabeth looked around. There were a few others parked and more skating. "Skating!" Romano laughed, "Yeah, do you like to ice skate? I thought it would be fun and it's a pretty nice day." Elizabeth bit her lip. She didn't want to hurt Romano's feelings but she had to tell the truth. "Actually I haven't ever been. I mean since I was a little girl." Getting out of the car this put a smile on Romano's face that he didn't try to hide. "That's ok, I'll teach you."  
  
After renting and dawning the skates Romano led Elizabeth slowly to the ice rink. Seeing the young couples fly past her she was reluctant to step out. "Come on." Romano jumped onto the ice and stopped quickly with a skid. "It's all about the first step." He held out a hand for her to grab as he set a foot on the slick surface. As soon as she had her weight on the ice she placed her other foot right beside Romano's. "Ok, now just lift up your foot and." he was cut off as Elizabeth slipped out of his grip and fell promptly on her tailbone. "Bloody hell! I hate ice, I give up." Elizabeth reached her hands in the air expecting help but Romano was too busy laughing. "I'm glad you think that this is funny Robert. Your idea is awful." After Romano heard that he straightened out the look on his face and took her hand. After pulling her up he took both of her shoulders and firmly held her. "Now you can't give up that easy," he started "How about you grab the ledge and I'll go around once and show you?" once Elizabeth had a confident grip on the side of the rink Romano was off. Not trying to show off he slowly skated around in a circle. With his hands placed in his pockets Elizabeth could see the muscles of his legs working under his jeans as he went around. Carefully gliding from one foot to the other he gracefully returned to her on the side. "See? There's nothing to it. Now come on, we'll take it slow." Taking Elizabeth's hands in his he skated backwards in front of her as he pulled her out into the center. Shaking even more now Elizabeth desperately wanted to go back and sit down. Feeling this in her hands Romano knew he had to give her some confidence. "Come on. I'll stand behind you. You wont fall so don't even think about it. The whole thing with skating is confidence.and a little grace." Elizabeth reached back for his hands as he led her through the steps of moving.  
  
Hand in hand they moved slowly around the center of the circle. "See I knew you could do it." Romano added as a seed of encouragement. He had already gotten over the fact that she had wrapped his arms around her and was desperately clutching them. He knew it was just because of fear. As he pushed harder with his legs they picked up speed. Fully aware of the fact that he was directing where they went he led her to the outside of the ring. Once there he increased speed even more. "Robert slow down!" Elizabeth squealed. Laughing he let go of her hands and watched her go. "See you can do it! You're going! You're going!! You're.falling." Romano squinted as he watched Elizabeth fall, hands flailing, into the ice. "Oh God." He said before he flew over to her after she didn't get up. "Elizabeth are you ok?" he yelled now feeling really bad about letting her go. He stopped on a dime and reached for his with his right hand. Having him fall perfectly into her trap Elizabeth quickly rolled over and pulled him down onto the ice. Falling on his shoulder with a thud she laughed whole-heartedly. "How's it feel to be on the wet ice now?" She laughed and she grabbed some ice chips and threw them on him. Romano, being slightly less then amused decided to play along. "Ok, you're in for it now." Elizabeth's eyes grew big as she saw him ball up a pile of ice. She tried to crawl away but it was no use. Within seconds Romano had her by the leg and pulled her back shoving the cold shavings of ice underneath her scarf. Screaming and pushing him onto his back she did the same back to him.  
  
After a matter of minutes they both grew cold and tired. Realizing that everyone else around them had left they laughed at each other. Romano looked down at his soaking wet clothes. "Here we are again. You're going to be the death of me. Let me help you up." Elizabeth watched how he got his footing and tried to mimic it when it was her turn. "Don't let me fall anymore please Robert. I've taken enough abuse for one day."  
  
Finally off the ice and back into their regular shoes they both sat on the bench together. "I'm sorry, I should have told you to wear pants. I didn't know you couldn't skate Elizabeth. Where I come from everyone knows." Romano said in a kind tone, not trying to be sarcastic. "So I guess you want me to take you home right?" he added almost lowering his head, but certainly his gaze from her. Reading his body language Elizabeth reached for his face. She felt Romano slightly jump at her touch and she turned his head to look at her. "Not at all." She said, "Not for awhile." 


	4. A Thousand Words

Thank you all for your reviews! Those are what keep me writing! Thanks so much and keep letting me know how you like it!  
  
An All American Love Story Ch. Four: A Thousand Words  
  
Romano smiled. He had waited a long time to go out with Elizabeth and he was glad it was going well. He studied her face. The gentle curves of her chin, the fleck of light in her eyes, he loved it all. He was so happy he had finally asked her out and it had gone perfectly, too perfectly. His trance has broken by a raindrop that hit his face. They both looked up at the sky, neither had noticed that the light and fluffy white clouds were now replaced by dark back shapes. The wind howled and Romano reached up and to hold onto his hat. "Well I think the powers that be are telling us our time is up!" he snickered. "Let's go."  
  
Once safely inside the car he waited for direction on where to drive. The last thing he wanted to do was be too presumptuous and make himself look like an ass. "Well are you busy tonight Robert? We could go to my house and get warmed up. Ella is gone all day so I'm free if." she was cut off by the starting of the car. "I'm free" Romano spouted almost too quickly. The rain was pouring now and it was very hard to see on the road. After a few minutes though, Romano pulled into the driveway and parked the car. "I guess there is no opportune moment to run inside huh? I'm sorry, I should have an umbrella but I didn't think it was going to rain like this." After a moment of pause they both flung open the doors and ran for the front of the house. Elizabeth's door had no overhang. Romano dropped his head and laughed as Elizabeth fumbled with her purse in search of her keys. "Guess you should have them already out!" he shouted. His voice was barely audible through the wind and rain. Finally Elizabeth found her key and jammed it into the door.  
  
Once inside the warm air made them both shiver. They looked each other over and both smiled as the saw the puddles their dripping clothes were making on her hardwood floor. "Why don't you. stand here for a second." Elizabeth said as she started up the stairs. Looking down at his wet clothes Romano chuckled, "What a great ending." Seconds after Elizabeth had disappeared into her room she was out again. "Heads up!" She yelled as a pair of sweatpants and a tee shirt flew from the balcony. "There is a bathroom down the hall. I'll be down in a second" She said and vanished into her room again.  
  
Romano looked around the house as he made his way to the bathroom. It smelled of lavender and pine. Once he was changed he walked into her living room and sat on the couch. He looked down at his feet. The pants were a good bit too long. He knew they were probably Mark's and now worn only by her but he didn't care. He set his wet clothes by the corner of the couch on his shoes and closed his eyes. He was more tired then he thought. Rubbing his sore shoulder he waited for Elizabeth to return. She almost snuck up on him with the coffee and she noticed him rubbing his back. "You ok?" she muttered as she handed him the coffee. "Just assessing my wounds from this afternoon." He smirked back. Romano lifted up the shirtsleeve to show Elizabeth the black spot forming on his arm. "See I damage easily! Better be careful or you'll be looking at a lawsuit." Without a word Elizabeth grabbed his clothes and walked out of the room. Romano heard the sound of the dryer and sighed as the coffee cup warmed his hand. As Elizabeth returned Romano moved over to the end of the left side of the sofa. He was always conscience about these things. He knew if he always sat on the left then whoever was sitting next to him was by his good arm. After everything he had been through it was still something he was self- conscience of.  
  
Sitting on her knees Elizabeth sat next to him. "Thank you for taking me out today Robert, that was a good idea."  
  
"Forget it. I'm sorry you didn't know how."  
  
Elizabeth smiled, "That's what made it fun. Except for the fact that you're a masochist, you're a good teacher." They both laughed. Elizabeth didn't like to push conversation but she knew with Robert that if she didn't they would both sit silent all night. "So tell me about you."  
  
Romano laughed, "What do you want to know?"  
  
"Well I was thinking that I don't know much about you." Thinking on her wording she tried again. "I mean, about your personal life. You know, brother and sisters, parents, sports, favorite color. That kind of thing."  
  
"Oh God." Romano moaned and his covered his face with his hand. "We're not going to be girlfriends are we? Where we share all of our personal information and have slumber parties. Id let you braid my hair Lizzie but I don't think it's long enough."  
  
Elizabeth pushed Romano on the shoulder. "Oh don't be an ass! You know what I'm talking about."  
  
Sighing Romano nodded. "Well, my mother's name is Lynn. I have one sister. My baby sister is 35, her name is Laura. When I was in high school I played baseball and I was on the swim team. My favorite color is blue." He stopped and smiled sarcastically. "Good enough?" Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Taking in what he said she looked for another question.  
  
"What position did you play on the baseball team?"  
  
"First and third. Mostly third because I could throw."  
  
"No football?"  
  
"God no! I would have been killed!"  
  
At that they both laughed. "Ok pick on the short guy! I see how it is." Romano grunted as he swallowed his coffee. "That's only six." Romano stated as he set the cup down in his lap. Elizabeth looked inquisitively at him. "Well if you were playing 20 questions, it's only been six. Done already Lizzie?" As Elizabeth opened her mouth to talk again the dryer buzzed. "I'll be right back." She said as she glided out of the room. Even in sweatpants, with her hair pulled up and wet, Elizabeth looked so beautiful to him. Romano looked at his watch, somehow it was almost five. He stood when she came back into the room with his shirt. "Your shirt and jacket are dry but I think the jeans will take another half hour." She grinned sheepishly, "you going somewhere?" Romano looked down at his bare feet. He didn't want to overstay his welcome. "It's getting to be around dinner time, I should probably go so you can make Ella's dinner and get cleaned up."  
  
Elizabeth froze. Did she do something? "You don't have to go. Ella isn't going to be home until later, I can order something in for us to eat." She didn't want to sound desperate, but she was actually having a good time. As of the past few years enjoyment had been so far out of reach for her that she missed the feeling. Romano reached for his shirt but touched her arm instead. "I have to feed Gretle. But I had a good time too." He took a step closer, now only inches from her face. Elizabeth, who was still clinging to his shirt looked from his hand up to his face.  
  
"Can I have my shirt back?" Romano's soft voice broke her storybook moment. "Oh sorry." She said letting go. "You know where the bathroom is." Trying hard not to grin Romano stepped past her. A few seconds later he was back. Handing Elizabeth her shirt he walked over and put on his boots and coat. Elizabeth had never seen anyone tie their shoes with one hand before. That had been the first time all day that she had noticed his arm. With one swift movement he was up and by the door. Elizabeth stood in front of it, his only obstacle left to overcome. "So Robert, I was wondering." She started slowly, "Was this a date?" Romano raised his hand and pressed it against the door, pinning Elizabeth, forcing her to look him in the eye. "I guess." He answered. All Elizabeth could do was nod. Her eyes moved from his down to his lips. She could feel his breath and she was anticipating what was coming next. As she felt him lean closer she closed her eyes.  
  
"Sorry Lizzie, but I don't kiss on a first date." Romano whispered in her ear as he backed up and put on his hat. When she opened her eyes and saw him further away she felt the heat rise in her face as she blushed. "You bastard." She mumbled when she stepped away and opened the door. Grinning, Romano stopped when he reached the doorway. It had nearly stopped raining, but the gray in the sky made it look like twilight. Romano leaned on the hinge and scratched his head. Finally Elizabeth broke the awkward silence. "So on the first date I get beat up, and on the second I get a kiss?" Romano sneered at her sarcasm, and decided to use some of his own. "Oh does this mean I get a second date?"  
  
"I don't know." She started softly, walking towards him. "I had wanted to go out with this. semi handsome surgeon tomorrow. You know, the typical kind, arrogant, snippy, sarcastic. But he hasn't really asked me out yet. Which is a shame." Understanding her game Romano tried for an equal response. "Well how about I show up early and kick his ass? Six-ish good for you?" he bit his lip as he waited for a response. "Six it is." She finally snipped back. She waited for another snark that never came.  
  
Elizabeth knew Romano was capable of giving looks worth a thousand words, in fact he was known for it, but the one he gave her before he turned and left was only worth three.  
  
"I'll miss you." 


	5. I'll Be

Ok.here it is. Because of all your positive reviews I have been inspired to write this next chapter. It might be a little long, but I'm sure you all will like it.  
  
An All American Love Story Ch. Five: I'll Be  
  
After Elizabeth shut the door she felt a rush. Romano made her feel good about herself. She wondered why she hadn't noticed it before. She walked over to the couch where he had been and sat down. Bringing the shirt up closer to her face she could still smell his clean sent she had noticed before in the car. Elizabeth wondered what they would be doing tomorrow, and smiled.  
  
When Romano reached his house he didn't even remember driving. All he had been thinking about was the previous hours. It was almost like a dream for him. He had liked Elizabeth for so long and now he had just gone out on a date with her! He wished he hadn't left, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Better not to rush into anything, especially with the complicated relationship he had with Elizabeth. After he got out of the shower he stood in front of his bathroom mirror to brush his teeth. He had tried to hide from the mirror for the longest time. He knew that his biggest obstacle when it came to dating was his own mind. The fact that he was now so self-conscience of his arm held him back for over a year when it came to asking her out. Now looking into the mirror at his arm made him cringe. "Long sleeve shirt tomorrow."  
  
The next day came quicker then both imagined. Romano had spent the morning with a light jog and then went over paperwork for the rest of the day. Elizabeth had spent the day with Ella since she knew she would be busy during the evening. They had both been watching the clock. Four became five and five became five thirty. At five to six Elizabeth's doorbell had just rang. It was perfect timing because Chris had just left with Ella to the movie store and she had just gotten dressed herself. This time it was Elizabeth in jeans and a blue silk shirt. She answered the door and was shocked. Romano was standing before her in a dark blue suit and tie and shiny black loafers. When he saw how Elizabeth was dressed and the expression on her face he dropped his head. He couldn't control the beaming smile that had crept onto his face. "We have to plan this out better." He said as he brought his hand up to the side of his face. "Come on are you ready to go?" Now smiling too Elizabeth sighed, "Well now that I feel underdressed I think I should go change." "Hell no," Romano replied, "You look fine, your picking the place anyway."  
  
After no further debate Elizabeth grabbed her purse and jacket and followed Romano to his car. "So where will it be?" he asked as he started the car.  
  
"How about Italian?"  
  
"Sounds great. What restaurant?"  
  
With a snicker Elizabeth snarked out, "Romano's Macaroni Grill?"  
  
"HAHA try again."  
  
"No, that's where I want to go." Laughing hard no Elizabeth tried her best to look serious. "Come on, shouldn't it be ladies choice?" With a snap of his head Romano answered as he backed out of the driveway. "Absolutely not. but apparently so."  
  
After going over it in the car the two of them finally agreed on a steak house properly called, "Chicago's" The night was not like it had been previously. Beautiful sunshine and a soft breeze had pushed out the storm clouds and the early evening was turning into a beautiful night. Since it was a little after six the sun was setting and the scenery was amazing. Romano and Elizabeth entered the restaurant and, although they were not the only ones there, it was not crowded. After quietly requesting a seat by a window, Romano took Elizabeth's coat, and they were both seated. Soon after looking at the menu they both ordered and were into conversation. Elizabeth had been dying just to talk to him again. It didn't matter about what; she just loved hearing his voice.  
  
"You never finished my questions last night."  
  
"Oh, ha! What else do you have?" Romano asked as he leaned in ever so slightly.  
  
"Well you never told me what you were for Halloween and what you always asked for at Christmas." She said with a smile  
  
"Let's see.I always wanted to be Mickey Mantle for Halloween, but I usually got stuck taking my sister around or passing out candy at the front door. Now Christmas. Christmas is a sad issue." He stated with a fake frown. "Ever since I can remember I asked for an autograph of Brenda Lee. But that sadly never happened so I usually got guitar stuff or new suits for church. My mom put me in a private school and that took up a lot of our money so holidays weren't really big things." He ended on a more serious note. Looking straight into his eyes Elizabeth knew he was being honest. "What about your father?" she asked. "I haven't heard you mention him." Now looking a bit more uncomfortable, Romano was glad to see the food was arriving. "That's because we didn't get along." He interjected just before the waiter came and interrupted them.  
  
Romano had ordered soup. Mostly because of the fact that he didn't have to cut it and could eat it with one hand. Elizabeth had gotten the same, mostly because she felt bad about ordering steak when her date went for an appetizer. After waiting enough time to be polite Elizabeth inquired again about Romano's father. "Why didn't you get along?" Shifting in his seat, this was clearly not what he wanted to be talking about on a date. "We just didn't agree on much. I was never very close to him. He might have been my biological father, but he was never my dad." Hearing the tone in his voice it was clear to Elizabeth that Romano had ended that conversation.  
  
After they had both finished their meal and had a few glasses of wine conversation was back up to a happy rate. They had gone over Elizabeth's disco faddish and the fact that at one point and time, Romano did have a red Afro. It was now dark outside and the restaurant was filling. Music was playing in the background was almost loud enough to dance to. Romano was noticing even more how beautiful Elizabeth was. The candlelight brought out the flecks of gold in her eyes and hair, and made the red of her lips turn darker. After minutes of looking at her he finally broke the gaze. He knew he had to talk, to be honest. "Lizzie I." his thought was interrupted by the song that came on. Quickly drumming his fingers on the table he figured honesty could come out later, right now he wanted to be romantic. "I want to dance." He said more boldly. Elizabeth's eyes widened as she looked around. There was no one else dancing and certainly no one thinking of it. "Look at all these people around us. Are you insane?" she asked back in a rhetorical whisper. Romano answered by standing up and walked over to her. He gave out his right hand to help her up. "I don't care about other people. We'll never see them after tonight. However, I will see you. And right now I want to dance, with you."  
  
Flattered Elizabeth took his hand and stood up. Romano walked her over past the table and took her hand. At first Elizabeth held it out, like in a formal dance. Quickly changing the tone however, Romano put it around his neck. Being careful to leave his left hand at his side he set his right hand on her lower back and brought his head to rest next to hers. After a moment of moving together Elizabeth, very conscience of the fact that now the whole restaurant was looking at them, whispered into his ear. "Robert, I can't hear the music." Being quick to think on his feet, Romano started to sing the words to the song, just loud enough for Elizabeth to hear.  
  
The strands in your eyes that color them wonderful  
  
Stop me and steal my breath  
  
Emeralds from mountains thrust toward the sky  
  
Never revealing their depth Tell me that we belong together  
  
Dress it up with the trappings of love  
  
I'll be captivated  
  
I'll hang from your lips  
  
Instead of the gallows of heartache that hang from above  
  
I'll be your crying shoulder  
  
I'll be love suicide  
  
I'll be better when I'm older  
  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life  
  
Elizabeth closed her eyes and she moved with him. Romano's eyes were closed too. Gently they rocked together, dancing as one. While she was listening to his voice Elizabeth had forgotten about the other people who were now staring at them for sure. She didn't care, nothing could mess this moment up, it was perfect. Feeling more relaxed then she had in along time a tear fell from her eye as Romano started to sing again.  
  
Rain falls angry on the tin roof  
  
As we lie awake in my bed  
  
You're my survival, you're my living proof  
  
My love is alive not dead  
  
Tell me that we belong together  
  
Dress it up with the trappings of love  
  
I'll be captivated I'll hang from your lips  
  
Instead of the gallows of heartache, that hang from above I'll be your crying shoulder  
  
I'll be love suicide  
  
I'll be better when I'm older  
  
I'll be the greatest fan of your life  
  
The song was over but they held each other anyway. Finally, Elizabeth wiped her eyes before letting Romano see her face. "Let's go." She whispered. Quietly they both got their jackets and Romano laid some money on the table as they left the restaurant.  
  
Romano drove in silence back to Elizabeth's house. He had made his big move and now it was her turn. They walked into her house and sat down on the couch. "Robert, that was wonderful. It was the best time I have had in.in a long time." Elizabeth said with a small grin. Moving closer over next to him she made it clear what she wanted to happen. Leaning in she put her arm over around his neck. "Your first date rule can't apply now since this is clearly our second date." Romano tightened up as he felt Elizabeth lean in next to him. This is what he had wanted, but in one wave of emotion all of his self-conscience feelings flooded him. "Ah, Elizabeth wait.I-I can't do this."  
  
Feeling him lean backwards Elizabeth retracted her touch, but only slightly. "What's wrong?" she asked in a kind, but equally seductive tone. Bringing his right hand up to his face he rubbed at the back of his neck and looked at the left half of his body. "If only that damn accident hadn't happened." He thought, "this is perfect, this is what I have wanted for so long and I'm screwing it up. DAMN IT!" Elizabeth noticed what he was looking at. She brought her hand and rested it on the side of his face. Gently she pulled him to look at her. "Robert I don't care about that. I just want to be with you, tonight, don't think I'm judging you about your arm." Turning is head now willingly to look at her he softly cleared his throat and spoke. "Then let's just be together. But not like that. That's not why I like you Elizabeth. I-I just sit here and hold you."  
  
Seeing his eyes tear up, she knew he wasn't ready to move on. It was ok though; going slow was fine with her. Gently she laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him. The rhythm of his heart relaxed her with every beat. She closed her eyes and listened to it until she felt him relax. "It's almost Christmas." She finally said, shattering Romano's momentary Zen state. "Yeah" he whispered back.  
  
"Are you going anywhere?"  
  
"No"  
  
"How about you spend it with Ella and me?"  
  
Romano shifted his body to look at Elizabeth in the face. With great care he whisked away a curl of hair that had fallen. "I'd love to." Slowly he bent down his head and kissed her forehead. Smiling and looking into his rigid face she gave a plea. "Robert, will you stay here? Just until I fall asleep?" She could feel him agree just by relaxing back down again. As she moved her head from his chest to his lap she bought up her feet onto the couch. Romano grabbed the blanket that was draped over the back of the sofa and laid it over her legs. Elizabeth reached up for his hand and brought it onto her chest. Romano, now with his good arm trapped looked for something to do with the other one. Suddenly he notice that Elizabeth had set Christmas books out on her coffee table, just for decoration, but he reached out and grabbed one. He opened it up and started reading. "Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." As he started to read Elizabeth closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his voice. It was so soft; she had never really realized it before. After tonight in the restaurant she had realized that he was a beautiful singer also.  
  
After he finished the book Romano looked down at Elizabeth. It was apparent that she was asleep. Slowly her chest rose and fell and although she had no real grip on his right hand, he felt unable to move it from hers. He didn't want to leave. Softly he rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes.  
  
They were both awoken by the ringing of the telephone. Romano rubbed his eyes as Elizabeth sat up and picked up the receiver. "Oh I'm sorry Chris I fell asleep. Yes, I'll be over to pick her up in a second. I'm so sorry." Romano looked at his watch. It was after two. "Oh man. I can't believe we both fell asleep." He said as he stood up. "I'll let you go get your daughter." They both dawned their coats and were soon ready to leave. Elizabeth, needing to leave through the garage, walked Romano to the door. "I did have a wonderful time Robert." Romano smiled shyly, "Well I'm glad." He reached for her hand and she let him take it. Caressing her fingers he bravely spoke again. "I know tomorrow is Sunday and that you haven't spent a night with Ella in two days but, I would really like to see you again." Nodding Elizabeth agreed. "I want to see you again too. But I don't want to go out. How about a dinner in? I would like to see where you live." She said boldly. Romano just shook his head agreeing. He opened the door and stepped out. After he did he felt in his gut that he had made a mistake. Turning around quickly he bent his head and gave her a soft kiss on her right cheek. "Goodnight."  
  
Elizabeth reached up and touched the spot on her face that had just been kissed. "Goodnight." She said back with a small grin. They didn't have to tell each other what they were feeling. It was known by the mutual looks on their faces. Romano waved goodbye with two fingers and returned to his car. Tonight had been a great night, but he could feel that tomorrow would hold something different. 


	6. Jogging for the Soul

An All American Love Story Ch. Six: Jogging for the Soul  
  
Romano's alarm went off at six AM. "Ahhmmm." He grumbled as he reached to turn it off. He hated it when he forgot to turn off his alarm at night on the days he was off. He rolled on his side and tried to go back to the dream he was disturbed from, his dream of Elizabeth. Half an hour later, not being able to fall back to sleep, he got out of bed. He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. The air in his house was cold on his arms. After starting the coffee machine he made his way into the computer room, turning the lights on in the house as he went. He sat down with a thud in the chair. Knowing he probably didn't have any email he set his head on the desk in front of him. Normally waking up at six wouldn't leave him this tired, however he had gotten home later then usual the previous night. Thinking on it some more he began to smile as his brain woke up. He turned on his computer and clicked open his schedule book for the day. Nothing planned except for his date with Elizabeth that he proudly entered into the text. He heard the coffee machine's beep signify that it was done working. After re-entering the kitchen again he stared at the pot of black coffee. "I've got to do something to wake up." He said to himself. Looking around for something to do his eyes passed over his old pair of running shoes. He hadn't really ran since his accident, which made him angry because it used to be one of his favorite things to do. Sure he jogged every other morning on his treadmill upstairs, but he hadn't been outside running, where real people could see him.  
  
Within ten minutes Romano had brushed his teeth, dawned a pair of blue Addis workout pants, and his favorite long sleeved tee shirt. He didn't bother with his prosthetic, nobody would be out anyway. After he put on his shoes he was out. The cold wind took the breath out of him as he stepped outside. It was still half dark and the streetlights were still on. He started down the street. His heart patted at the same beet as his feet. Although the cold air made his chest burn it felt good to be outside again. He ran his usual three-mile loop past the river and back up to his house. That was his favorite part, the river. There were no geese, since it was the middle of winter, but the trees made it just as beautiful. He watched the water glisten as the sun tried to come up. He wiped the sweat from his face as he sped up. He needed to do this more often. He knew that spring was coming soon and that was when people would be out early. "It might be good for me." He thought to himself, "To be out in front of people." As he reached his street again his legs began to shake. He was getting tired and was glad he was almost back. As he rounded the corner he saw a van parked in his driveway. "It couldn't be." he thought as he jogged up further. As he reached his driveway he saw Elizabeth standing at his door. She was taping a note on the window and he could see the bag that hung from his doorknob. He cleared his throat before he spoke. "Elizabeth?" he was still out of breath when he said it. Elizabeth turned, startled at the sound of someone's voice. "What are you doing?" he asked again after he got his breath more under control. 


	7. Small Talk

An All American Love Story Ch. Eight: Small Talk  
  
Elizabeth could feel her face turn bright red. She hadn't planned anything to say, she didn't think that she would see anyone this early in the morning. "I was.just returning your jeans. Which is silly because I am sure you have more then one pair of pants but I just thought I should." Grinning Romano walked up closer to her. "That's ok. I appreciate it." Carefully he took the bag from her hand. Looking Romano over closely Elizabeth was just as curious to what he had been doing. "Do you normally go for walks this early on your days off?" Not hesitating, Romano answered. "I was running. But no I don't, I just couldn't sleep." At the end of his statement Romano became distracted by the wet drops of rain that he had felt on the back of his neck.  
  
Suddenly the cold wind blew again. They both looked up at the quickly graying sky. Although the sun had just come up, more rain clouds were pushing it out. "I didn't think it was supposed to rain today." Elizabeth stated. Agreeing Romano searched for something witting and clever to add. "Well you know what they say about weathermen. They can be as smart as surgeons, but they're right less then half the time." After pausing slightly, waiting for a reaction he asked the question he had been meaning to. "Do you want to come in?"  
  
Elizabeth was about to agree when she felt quickly falling raindrops hit her head. With a pained expression on her face she answered. "I would really love to. But Ella is scared of the storms and Chris isn't with her until later this evening." Lowering his head Romano nodded. He fully understood that this would be one of many times Ella would come first, as she should. He hoped one day Elizabeth would let him meet her. However, like many things in both their lives, it was a conversation for another time.  
  
"I understand." He said looking up at her. With a crack from above, lightening filled the sky and the rain started to pour. They both jumped at the sound, it wasn't very far away. "I guess that means the powers that be want you to go!" Romano said, switching places with Elizabeth. "I'll still see you tonight right?"  
  
Elizabeth barely heard him as she ran for her car, but she knew what he had asked. "I'll be over at six!" she yelled into the driving rain. After a thumb up from Romano she peeled her car out and left for home. She hoped that Ella was still sleeping and hadn't heard the storm, but doubted it. After several minutes of driving she realized that she hadn't taken down the note she had attached to Romano's window. "Damn!" she said out loud, realizing what she had written in it. "Maybe he didn't see it."  
  
Romano darted into his house after Elizabeth left. After thinking on the recent events more he smiled. "How lucky is that." A sudden feeling of cold ran through him as the air conditioning kicked on and chilled his wet body. "Damn thing. It's freaking twenty degrees outside and it still hasn't gone over to heat yet." Walking to the side of the door to change the thermostat, he saw something on the side of his window. At first he thought it was just junk the wind had blown. However, after looking at it more closely he saw ink start to bleed through the paper as the rain saturated it. "Ah damn." He said as it quickly registered what the piece of paper was. Quickly opening the door he stuck his hand outside and retrieved the note from the rain.  
  
After locking his door once more he took off his shoes and headed upstairs to take a shower. Not wanting to tare the letter he set it on his counter to dry while he was in the shower. After undressing and stepping into the warm water he felt better. The adrenalin from running had worn off and he was now feeling the effects from his lack of sleep even more. Ten minutes later he was out of the shower and dressed in a comfortable pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Before he walked downstairs he grabbed the note, which was now crispy from the rain, and his recipe book his mom had given him when he left for college. Determined to find a suitable meal for tonight he knew the answers lied somewhere in his mom's Italian cooking.  
  
After sifting through many different choices he had finally settled on one of his favorites. After marking the page he set the book down and picked up his note. Carefully opening it he found that the rain and blurred most of the writing, making it impossible to read. However, Romano didn't care. He was to busy focusing on the last five words on the page.  
  
"See you tonight,  
  
Love,  
  
Elizabeth" 


	8. Getting to Know You

An All American Love Story Ch. Eight: Getting to Know You  
  
Six came and went while there was no sign of Elizabeth. Romano's food was out of the oven and ready, while he sat on the couch with a glass of wine. He hadn't called her. It was only six thirty and he didn't want to seem over anxious. He was sure there was a reason for her tardiness. Just as he got up to put the lasagna in the refrigerator he heard his phone ring. Jumping to answer it, the phone never got to its second tone. "Hello?" he said, briefly clearing his voice. "Robert!" Romano pulled the phone away from his ear. The person on the other end was not who he expected. Instead of hearing Elizabeth's pleasing voice, he heard Kerry Weaver's shrill cackle come through. More then a little annoyed he answered to his name.  
  
"What Kerry? I'm off tonight you know."  
  
"I don't care. We are short staffed and you are the only one who has answered their phone so far. I have been trying to pull our so called doctors in here all night."  
  
"Kerry, I am expecting company, and I don't want to come in. I'm working graveyard tomorrow anyway."  
  
"Well I'm supposed to be off tonight too! I will go to your house and drag you out by your ears if I have to put you better be here in twenty minutes!"  
  
After that Romano heard the other receiver hang up. He looked outside his window, hoping that Elizabeth would miraculously show up but all he saw was driving rain. After changing his shirt and putting on a jacket he was out the door. He had left a note on his door for her in case she ever showed up, but he didn't think it likely. Exactly twenty minutes later he arrived at County's doors. Even though he ran inside he was still soaking wet by the time he got there. Wiping his dripping face he was greeted by Weaver throwing a flashlight at him. "Good to see that you made it. The power is out, start making rounds, do a little triage, and you might be out of here by two or three." Giving a sarcastic grin he watched as she started for the door. "Where the hell do you think your going?" he asked. "I got you in. I have been on for fourteen hours and I am going home." She curtly responded as she exited the hospital. Furious, Romano slammed his hand down on the table. "Damn it!"  
  
Four hours later he had dispoed eighteen patients, ruled out two M I's, and sent three car crash victims up to surgery. After checking the board he walked into the ER lounge however, he quickly left after finding Pratt sitting on the couch. He didn't want to deal with anyone right now, especially not Pratt. Slowly he made his way up onto the surgical floor where he briefly checked on the patients who he had sent up. Not really caring he walked into the much nicer surgeon's lounge. The lounge was always dark, but with the power out it seemed to be almost pitch black. Now, being close to midnight he was starting to feel the effects of his lack of sleep even more. Slowly sitting on the leather couch he rolled his tight neck on his shoulders. Just as he had rested his head on the back of the sofa he heard someone come in. they didn't speak, but just felt their way across the room. Romano remained quiet. If it was someone like Dorsett, he would rather them think that no one was here until he could slip out. After a few moments he heard a cell phone open and be dialed. Within seconds he felt the vibrating buzz of his own phone on his belt. Knowing now ho the person was with him in the room he decided it best to remain quiet.  
  
After several rings Elizabeth heard Romano's answering machine pick up. "God he must be livid." She said to herself. After hearing the recording Elizabeth began to speak. "Robert. I am sorry about tonight but Weaver called me in. I was already late because Ella's doctor's appointment ran over and then I got called in. By the time I called your house no one answered. I am going to be off in about a half an hour if you want to go get coffee or something. I am really sorry." After pausing shortly, deciding if she should say anything else, she hung up the phone. Sighing into her chair she put her feet up on the coffee table  
  
Still quiet, Romano decided to keep up the charade. Silently scrolling down on his beeper he found Elizabeth's number and hit enter, paging her down to the ER. Within moments she was up and out of the lounge. After waiting a suitable amount of time Romano got up and left too. Knowing that Elizabeth would take the emergency elevator, which still had power, he took the stairs. As he exited the stairwell, almost at a run, she came flying out of the elevator. They both hit each other with a thud, sending them both onto the floor. "So sorry." Elizabeth said as she turned her flashlight onto Romano's face. "Oh here you are! I had been calling you. I just got beeped into the ER." Romano grinned as he got up. "I know. I paged you. It's an emergency! If we don't leave right now, we will both be suck back into the ER vortex of doom and might not ever get back out again!" now smiling too Elizabeth walked with him to admit. "Well we can go as long as everything is all caught up here." Finding only two minor injuries Romano was more then happy to be off and out.  
  
Mostly silent until they reached the door, both doctors looked out at the still pouring rain. "God, I'm exhausted." Elizabeth mumbled. Hearing her words Romano caught her hidden meaning. "Well, tonight's not meant to be. Why don't you go home to your baby?"  
  
"No, that's not what I meant. I need a break anyway. Where do you want to go?"  
  
"Have you eaten dinner yet?"  
  
"No, I came straight from the nanny's to here."  
  
"Well let's go to my house then. I mage some lasagna, all I have to do is heat it up."  
  
Not even thinking it over Elizabeth agreed. Soon they were both at Romano's house waiting for the food to come out of the microwave. While Romano waited, he couldn't help but look at Elizabeth sitting at his table. She did look awfully tired. "How about you go sit in the living room and I will bring this in when it's ready?" not waiting for a response he spoke again. "Go down the hall and take a right."  
  
Elizabeth did as she was told. She was glad Romano was far enough away from the hospital that he had power in his house. As she reached the living room she clicked on the light. The room was nicely decorated with dark greens and browns. Books lined the far wall and there was a computer in the corner by the window. She walked over to the wall and quickly scanned his reading selection. After going through medical books and magazines and some novels about WWII she found something even more interesting.  
  
Ten minutes later Romano walked in with two plates of food and a bottle of wine. Noticing that Elizabeth was reading a book he quickly looked over he shoulder. "What are you snooping through Lizzie?" Looking back she smiled, "I'm not snooping. Just reading the best of Holy Ghost Prep. 1981." Knowing what she meant Romano sat down next to her, faking a smile, and slightly embarrassed. "Ah. That's senior year. A lot of good pictures of me in that one." Setting their dinner down on the table he sat to the left of her and placed his right arm along the back of the couch, behind her head. "I didn't know you went to a private school." Elizabeth remarked after reading the mission statement in the front of the book. "And a religious one at that." Nodding Romano started to flip through the pages. "You should go to the baseball section. I know I'm in there." After finding the appropriate spot, Romano pointed at a team picture.  
  
Looking at it Elizabeth could hardly believe her eyes. There, in the middle row was a square jawed, very handsome, young man. Looking at it more she could tell it was him. "Number fourteen huh?" "Yep that was me." Reading the captions she found another picture of him. This one was a split picture with a quote underneath. The caption above read, " A double all-star." And it was two pictures, one of him batting and the other smiling in the dug out, sitting with another young man. The quote beneath the pictures was from him. "Winning state was a tremendous accomplishment for the team, especially when we beat Brookwood to do it. However, the best feeling over that was when I found out that Lenny made all-star with me!"  
  
Elizabeth was now beaming. She loved learning about Romano, she was finding out quickly what a truly interesting man he was. "If you flip the page you will be in the swimming section." He said to her. There was no team picture this time, yet instead a very big clip of Romano, dripping wet with goggles around his neck, standing next to a girl. Elizabeth noticed his hair was short, even then. Probably on purpose though, but what she noticed most was his muscular build. He had his left arm around the girl and his right arm flexed, showing off. "Who is the girl in the picture? Was she on the team with you?" Biting his upper lip Romano thought back quickly. "No. That school was an all boys program. She was from the girl's academy next to us. Her name was Jenny O'Rielly, my first girlfriend." Now shifting in the couch, Romano scooted far enough away from Elizabeth to comfortably look her in the face and talk to her. "How long did you to go out?" she asked, changing her voice slightly from the inquisitive tone it had been to a softer one. "We went out all of my time in high school. That's how all of my girlfriends ended up being. I was never in short relationships, but then again I never had many because of it." Leaning in, slightly closer Elizabeth tried with another question, "Well how many have you had?" slowly moving his fingers, Romano held up four. "One in high school, one through college, and two before I was working in County. Those were the major ones at least. You can't count all the numerous woman that throw themselves at me daily." Romano added sarcastically, a smile creeping up on his face. He knew what Elizabeth was doing as she leaned in closer to him, only inches away from his face. "What was that mark on your back that I saw in the picture." She asked before she closed her eyes.  
  
"Tattoo" he answered as he closed his.  
  
"Really? What of?" now Elizabeth was almost at a whisper. She could feel the warm breath touching her face.  
  
"That's another story, for another time." Romano answered bringing his right hand down to rest on her shoulder.  
  
Romano slightly tilted his head to the side as he lightly brushed the side of her face. Leaning forward their lips barely had a chance to touch before the lights went out.  
  
"Oh Christ!" Romano yelled, snapping back up straight. "Stay here, I'll be right back." After a few minutes Romano showed back up with two flashlights. "I don't believe the power went out here too." He said as he handed her the light. Taking the flashlight Elizabeth looked at her watch. "It is getting really late Robert. I am on tomorrow." Fully understanding, since he was feeling fatigued as well he gave her his hand to help her stand up. After helping Elizabeth put on her coat Romano walked her to the door. Although it was still raining outside, the wind had let up and it appeared as if it was about to clear.  
  
"I'm working the Graveyard tomorrow. When are you on?" he asked. Putting her hair back up in the clip it had originally been in she didn't even think before she answered. "I am on from six to twelve. Short day, just paperwork, I probably wont even have to go down to the ER. Why? Are we going to try this a fourth time?" "It is supposed to be a charm. Besides, I think I have something that can't get postponed." To this Elizabeth didn't answer. The look she gave was more then enough to say she would be there.  
  
After he closed the door Romano leaned against it. Watching a moment to see her leave he let out a deep sigh. "Here we go." 


	9. Between Friends

An All American Love Story Ch. Nine: Between Friends  
  
After another sleepless night Romano's alarm once again woke him up. Glaring at the red numbers, he turned off the music and stayed in bed. "I promised her something fun today. What the hell am I going to do?" he asked himself. After going over many choices in his mind he got lost in the possible outcomes. After finally forcing himself to sit up he brought his head down and stared across his bedroom. He could hear Gretel outside his door and he knew she wanted to go out, but he needed a moment for himself. He slid out of bed and shivered as his feet hit the cold wooden floor.  
  
After putting on some workout pants and a shirt he walked outside his room to greet Gretel. "Hey girl, you ready for a walk?" he asked as he scratched her shaggy head. He tapped the side of his leg as he walked down the stairs. Romano grabbed his wallet and jacket while Gretel held the leash in her hand. "Ok, girl. Let's go get some breakfast." Romano clipped the leash onto her collar and opened the door. Gretel jumped out the door taking Romano with her. Loosing his balance because of the unexpected jolt he stepped quickly to regain his center. However, Gretel had plans of her own. She bounded down the brick stairs, not knowing that her master's hand had been caught in the leash.  
  
As Romano fell head first onto the brick he let out a yell. It took him a moment to get up. Moving from his stomach, he leaned back to sit on the step. Romano brought his right hand up and touched a painful spot above his eyebrow. He brought his hand down and looked it as it dripped with blood. "Ah, damn it." he grumbled as Gretel doubled back to look him in the face. "I blame you." He said as he got his baring and stood up. Leaving Gretel outside for a moment he walked back into his house to clean up before he tried to go out again.  
  
He stared at his cut in the mirror. He knew it needed stitches. Looking himself over, he only had two other cuts on him, one on his hand and a scrape on his knee. "Not to bad for flying into concrete." After placing a bandage on his injuries he decided to swing by the hospital, get fixed up, and then take Elizabeth out. It was nearly nine and he knew by the time he got done at County, it would be close enough to steal her away. He walked back outside he drug Gretel into the house. "I hope you did what you had to do while I was gone. Otherwise you'll be one hurting puppy."  
  
Elizabeth hadn't been called down to the ER all morning. It had been a pretty slow week actually, and she was grateful. Just as she was finishing up another post-op paperwork set she felt the vibration of her pager. "Damn, I thought it was too good to be true." She said out loud as she jogged to the elevator. Once she got down she was met by a smiling Carter. "What's going on?" she asked. "Oh, it's no emergency, just Romano in one. He needs some sutures above his eye." Now scowling, Elizabeth watched as his grin widen. "And you can't do this on your own?" she asked back. Noticing her hostility Carter answered as he walked away. "No, I could. I just choose not to."  
  
Elizabeth pushed the door open to find Romano, sure enough, with a good size laceration above his right eye. "Morning." He said with a smile. "So Robert, who did you get into a fight with this early in the morning." She asked him as he sighed, "Well Gretel beat me up. She found out I was seeing another woman. I tried to tell her there was enough of me to go around but she just wouldn't have it. I'd watch your back if I were you."  
  
Now grinning, Elizabeth prepared to suture his head. "Looks like you hurt your hand too." She remarked after looking him over. "No, it's fine. Not anything to stop the fun of our next adventure." At this Elizabeth stopped stitching.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I promised you something fun today. Something that wouldn't get messed up, and I found it."  
  
"Oh right." Elizabeth said softly. "It's not busy today, so I should be able to get out of here fairly early. Ok, you're all done." She said backing up in her chair. They walked out together. The hospital was almost empty. There was only Carter, who was sitting with his feet up on the admit desk sucking on a lollypop, and Jerry who was talking on the phone. Elizabeth pointed to the empty waiting room. "Like I said, it's a slow day." Romano nodded as he walked up and pushed Carter's feet off the counter. Romano scowled at Carter before he could say anything and looked back to Elizabeth's direction. "Yeah, oh well. Thanks Lizzie." He said pointing to his head, "I'll pick you up in an hour."  
  
At those words Elizabeth's eyes shot over to Carter who was trying to pretend he hadn't heard what Romano said. "Yeah." Elizabeth remarked, quickly walking past Romano before he could get close enough to touch her. Romano watched Elizabeth walk past him. He couldn't believe she was acting like this after the last three days. As he turned back around his eyes caught Carter's smile. The look Romano gave him was enough to quickly get rid of it. As Romano walked out of the hospital Carter got up and followed Elizabeth into the elevator.  
  
They both stood in silence for a moment before Carter's smile was back. "Shut up Carter. It's not what you think." Elizabeth curtly remarked. Carter tried to wipe the grin off his face but he couldn't. "I didn't say anything Dr. Corday." He paused; "So you two are going out then?" at this he couldn't help it. Carter let out a laugh that nearly doubled him over. Elizabeth looked at him furious. "No. It's not like that Carter." The tone in her voice was enough to stop his laughter. As the elevator opened Elizabeth stepped out. "Not coming?" she asked. "No I am going up to the roof. It's the first hour of decent weather so far, and they are calling for more rain." Carter answered. Elizabeth was about to walk away but right before the elevator doors closed she stuck her hand in stopping them. "Carter. Would you please keep this between us?"  
  
Carter nodded as the doors closed, his face more serious then before. Elizabeth didn't know why that had scared her so much. She didn't care what most of the people at County thought. She liked Romano because he was a genuinely decent person. Elizabeth walked back into her office and sat down where she had been. After looking down at the report she had been writing she closed it and put it in her bag. It was only eleven thirty but there was no one there. Within minutes she was back down in the ER with her things ready to go. "Jerry, I am leaving early. If we get any serious cases just page me ok? Otherwise I will see you tomorrow." She said as she walked out the door. "Sure Dr. Corday!" Jerry answered back before the doors closed.  
  
It took Elizabeth fifteen minutes to drive to Romano's house. By the time she got there it was starting to lightly drizzle again and the gray clouds were back. Quickly she jogged to his door and pressed on the doorbell. At first all Elizabeth heard was a dog's bark so she pressed it again. This time she heard the noise of Romano walking down the stairs. "Shut up Gretel! I can hear them to you know!" When Romano opened the door he was surprised to see Elizabeth standing there. "What are you doing here Lizzie? Aren't you on for another hour or so?" Elizabeth looked up at the raindrops that were now dropping harder on her head as she listened to his question. "Yeah I know, but there was no one at the hospital so I told Jerry to page me if I was needed." Bringing her gaze back to Romano she cleared her throat before she spoke again. "I wanted the extra time with you."  
  
The words stung Romano a little. She had been the one, not thirty minutes ago, that hadn't wanted him to touch her. "Oh so now that we are out of everyone's sight and earshot it's ok for me to be with you. Yeah I can see how that's fair." Elizabeth hated his sarcastic tone. She again looked up at the rain. "You know, can we talk about this inside? I'm getting kind of wet out here." To that Romano stepped aside and let Elizabeth walk in. After he closed the door he was quick to restart the conversation. "You know, I don't have the time or the patience to try and be with someone who can only stand to be with me when we're alone." Elizabeth's mouth almost dropped as she realized that he was actually yelling at her.  
  
"I'm sorry Robert, I just don't really want the whole hospital knowing about my love life!"  
  
"It wasn't the whole hospital Elizabeth, it was Carter. And I don't care about that. I just don't feel like you really want to be with me. It seems that every time something is about to happen you stop it."  
  
"Don't you dare blame that on me! You won't even kiss me for Christ's sake!"  
  
Romano stopped at hearing that. He didn't want to fight with her, but he just couldn't find the right thing to say. "Look" these words were quiet, just above a whisper. "I'm sorry. It's just been a long day. I didn't mean." he was cut off my Elizabeth's hand reaching out for his. "We can talk about this later Robert. Right now I want to do something fun. So let's go before it really starts to storm." She interjected. Romano nodded. "Ok but we have to stop by your house then." Elizabeth looked at him inquisitively as he got his coat. "For what?" she asked.  
  
"Your swim suit." 


	10. Swim Lessons

An All American Love Story Ch. Ten: Swim Lessons  
  
***Sorry this took awhile, and I hope I still have some readers. The chapter shouldn't take very long after this one. Thanks for reading. I hope you all have a happy New Year!!!  
  
They had been in the car nearly ten minutes before Elizabeth spoke. She wanted to pretend the small fight previously didn't mean much, but she knew it had to be addressed later. "Robert, I hate to break it to you but swimming in December, in Chicago, doesn't hold much appeal." He smiled and continued driving. "It's an indoor pool so don't worry about it. We will probably be the only ones there anyway."  
  
And he was right. He pulled his car up and noticed that there was no one in the parking lot. Elizabeth sat in the car, not moving when she spoke again. "Is it open Robert?" she hoped it wasn't. She had only ever been swimming twice in her life, and both of those times she had been under the age of five. Her fears came true however, when Romano pulled a key out of his pocket. "I come here all the time. A buddy of mine owns it, so we can get in." he said smiling at her. Putting on a fairly believable fake smile Elizabeth nodded and stepped out, into the Chicago weather. The whole area had been hit with a pretty bad storm for the past few days, and the meteorologists were calling for it all the next week. Although it had stopped raining on the way to the pool, the wind was quickly picking up again, a good sign of the downpour that was about to occur.  
  
It didn't take long for Romano to open the door to the building. Once Elizabeth walked inside she was hit with the warmth from the water, and an intoxicating smell of chlorine. Romano walked to the side and flicked on the lights. The whole room lit up and revealed three large swimming pools. Two with racing lanes and one with an extremely high diving board. "Come on." Romano said, gently tugging at Elizabeth's arm. Reluctantly she followed him. She didn't want to ruin the date by telling him she hated the water and couldn't swim. "Maybe I'll just sit on the edge." She thought.  
  
Romano walked Elizabeth over to a spot with a few benches and put the bag he had brought down on one. Even though he was extremely nervous about Elizabeth seeing his arm, he it was key in him opening up and wanted to get it over with in a fun way. He opened up the bag and pulled out two towels and set them on the chair. After that was taken care of he slipped off his track pants he had been wearing. He had put on his swim shorts while Elizabeth was getting dressed at her house. Noticing how rigid she looked he walked over to the edge of the pool where she was. Gently putting his right arm around her waist he whispered into her ear. "Are you ok?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded as she turned around. She knew there was no good way of getting out of this. As Romano worked on getting his shirt off over his head she quickly slipped out of the jeans and blouse she had been wearing to reveal a tasteful one-piece suit. Finally Romano got the shirt off. "Damn thing." He muttered as his gaze fell onto her. He didn't even try to keep the grin off of his face. She was absolutely beautiful. "Ok Lizzie, here we go." He said as he walked over to the high dive.  
  
Elizabeth knew she shouldn't wait much longer to tell him. "Robert wait, come here." She said, motioning him back with her hand. Romano hesitated at first but soon walked back to stand next to Elizabeth. "What?" he asked, tilting his head to the side in a playful way. Elizabeth stuttered as she spoke. The last thing she wanted was to hurt his feelings again. "Robert, I-I meant to tell you. But I never did. And it's not your fault, because I should have told you, so I'm sorry in advance." Romano's eyes widened, as he got lost in her quick words. He held up his hand. "Lizzie. Just say it." She swallowed hard before she spoke. "I don't know how to swim. I'm, sort of afraid of water."  
  
Romano smiled. "Oh poor Lizzie. Living in Britain raised you awfully. You've been deprived." He said sarcastically. But he quickly noticed she was more upset about it then he was. "It's ok." He said as he gently brushed the side of her face. "Why are you upset?" he asked. "I just didn't want to ruin another date." She answered, looking him in the eyes. Romano slowly brought her into a hug. "You couldn't ruin a date Lizzie. You're too much fun to be with." An evil grin made its way onto his face as he got an idea. Gently he took a step closer to her, and the edge of the pool. "You know how I always got over my fears?" he asked. He could feel her head shake no against his. Quickly he tightened the grip of his right arm around her as he lifted her up off her feet. "I dive in." he said as he turned and fell into the pool, with her in his arm.  
  
Elizabeth screamed as Romano lifted her up and jumped into the water. Instantly her whole body was underneath the glassy liquid. The whole moment shocked her as they both resurfaced. Elizabeth flailed her arms and started to cry out. Even though Romano's strong grip never left her side, the fact that she felt so helpless scared her half to death. "Robert help!" she screamed as she sunk back underneath the water. Quickly he pulled her up and placed her arms around his neck. "It's ok Lizzie. Your going to be ok." He softly said trying to calm her down. Quickly he worked his arm as he swam for the shallow end of the pool where his feet could touch the bottom. After they were safely there Elizabeth still held onto Romano's neck, her face buried against his shoulder.  
  
Softly he rubbed her back. "Your ok now. Your alright." After a few minutes Elizabeth loosened her grip and brought her head back to look him in the face. To her surprise his expression was not one of levity, but rather that of concern. "Are you ok?" he asked again, still softly. "I really am sorry." He said bringing her head up with his hand. "I wasn't kidding Robert. I wouldn't joke about something like that." She said, trying to control the fear in her voice. "I know." Romano whispered bringing his forehead to touch hers. Again, he softly rubbed her back. After a moment he felt her relax as she hung her arms around his neck.  
  
After she got her breathing under control, Elizabeth finally got a chance to really get a good look at her date. She was glad he had finally shaved his beard so now, in the dull light of the pool, his sharp features were even more accentuated. Looking at him now she noticed all sorts of things. The muscles in his arm and shoulders, the softness of his hand, the clean scent of his skin, and what she had always liked best about him, the beautiful curve of his smile.  
  
Romano noticed a change in the way Elizabeth stood, and he felt she had finally got herself under control. He brought his head up from hers and gently kissed a spot right above her eyebrow. "Next time I will listen to you when you say no." he remarked with a slight grin before he kissed the same spot again. Romano brought his head back down to look at Elizabeth and confirm that she was in fact all right. He tilted his head to the side and smiled as he wiped a remaining tear from her face. This was the first time in many years he had seen her truly frightened. Romano didn't say anything; he just looked into her eyes and, with a look, apologized again. "Ok" he muttered as he went to move to the stairs. He stopped however when he felt Elizabeth pull back on his hand. "What?" he asked, moving back to where he had been.  
  
Elizabeth placed his hand on her back where it had been. She knew if she let him go now, it would be even longer before he got up the courage again to do something romantic. "Don't stop." She said quietly to him. Romano clenched his jaw. He hadn't been doing anything. "What?" he asked as his heart started to race. Elizabeth sighed; she didn't want him to be so uncomfortable around her. "Just kiss me." She said after some delay. "It doesn't have to be prefect. Just kiss me." Romano froze as he heard her words. "Come on man move!" he thought to himself. This is what he had planned on, but now that it was actually about to happen he couldn't get any of his muscles to move.  
  
Noticing how shy Romano now looked Elizabeth knew it was up to her to make something happen. She elegantly tilted her head and brought her lips to meet his as she closed her eyes. She was happy when she didn't feel him pull away. After a second she moved her face back, but only enough to get out a few words. "See, it's not that hard." she teased as she brought her hands up to touch the side of his face. This time Romano responded, bringing his hand from her back up to her neck. He closed his eyes and leaned forward, letting their lips meet again. After caressing her face he slowly deepened the kiss. Slowly, he took a few steps forward, still connected to Elizabeth, until he felt her back touch the cool concrete of the wall.  
  
Elizabeth let out a small moan as Romano pressed harder against her. He was such a good kisser, and even though their date had started off on a semi hurtful note, it was quickly taking a turn for the best. After Elizabeth grabbed harder to his neck Romano pulled back. He dropped his head, almost giving the impression he was embarrassed at what had just happened. Elizabeth again stroked the side of his face. "Perfect." She whispered, finding a spot on his collarbone to kiss. As she opened her eyes she saw a small mark on the back of his shoulder blade. Looking at it more closely she touched it before he moved away. "What's this?" She asked. "Tattoo." Romano responded. "Remember, we talked about it." "Yeah we did but you never told me what it was." Romano agreed as he moved his gaze from her eyes to her lips. "That's because I don't want to talk about it now." He managed to get out before he leaned forward and kissed her again.  
  
After another several minutes Romano withdrew again and brought up his thumb to trace a line down her face. "I wish I didn't have to work tonight." He remarked.  
  
"What time do you get off?"  
  
"My shift is from six to two. Weaver changed my hours again."  
  
"Well you could always stop bye." Elizabeth added, with an audible seductive inflection.  
  
"I would wake up Ella, and you're on tomorrow aren't you?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded, "Yes and the next two days, but I am off on Friday and on Sunday." Romano looked up in thought. "Well I am on Friday but off Sunday night." After a quick pause he thought of something to add. "Are you working Christmas and New Years?" Elizabeth smiled as she realized what he was about to ask. "No, I am off from the twenty fourth all the way to the second. It's the only time I ever ask off. Why? Do you want to spend Christmas together?"  
  
"Well you did already invite me." Romano said, placing a fake look of shyness on his face. "Unless you."  
  
"Oh shut up." Elizabeth commanded as she kissed him again.  
  
After a brief moment they were both out of the pool and dried off. After Romano had gotten on his track pants he started to mess with his shirt. Elizabeth had already finished dressing and turned to look at him. Because he was facing the other way to give her some privacy she got a good look at the tattoo on his back. Across his right shoulder blade, about the size of a fist was a red-breasted robin. She didn't know how she had never noticed it before. She came up behind him and touched it with her palm. "How long have to had this." She asked, "It's beautiful."  
  
Romano tried not to jump. He had the shirt up over his head and quickly pulled it down. "Come on Lizzie, let's go." Romano spoke in a tone as if he hadn't heard her question at all as he began to walk out. Elizabeth was going to protest, but stopped when she saw the weather outside. It was absolutely dreadful. The wind had picked up to a frightening pace and was forcing the rain to fall sideways. "Holy shit." Romano spouted as he stared out. "I'm glad you're not working tonight Lizzie." Looking from the glass door back to his face she boldly inquired, "Why is that?" After turning to face her also he let a small grin slide onto the corner of his mouth. "Cause I would be worrying all night." Romano quickly said as he dashed for the car.  
  
Romano threw the jacket over Elizabeth's head at first. However, quickly realizing that it did nothing, they both just made a run for his car. Within seconds they were both safe inside. "Oh God damn." Romano yelled after hitting the steering wheel. "I didn't lock the door. Hold on, I'll be right back." Without giving Elizabeth a chance to protest Romano was out the door and back up to the building. He quickly inserted the key and locked the door. He turned to run back to the car, but as he stepped down off the curb the rainwater in the ditch brought his foot out from under him.  
  
Romano's legs went to the left as everything else went right. His head smacked the curb on the same spot it had previously in the morning, splitting his stitches open again. Blood poured from his head and down the gutter while he lay in the water. Horrified Elizabeth ran out to help. "Robert!" she screamed at him. Kneeling down at his side she yelled his name again, "Robert, can you hear me?!" More then a little annoyed at his bad luck Romano opened his eyes to answer. "I'm cut Lizzie, not deaf. Yes I can hear you." He said getting up. His laceration had spread from being one inch to about three and a half. "Come on you're going to get sick." He said pulling her back into the car.  
  
Once inside he grabbed the towel from the back and pressed it against his head. Shortly there after Romano's phone rang, he picked it up on the second tone. "Romano." He said into the device. It was Kerry. "I need you to come in early. All this rain is flooding us, with water and patients. Before you say it, I don't care what excuse you have, I need you in here now." She said again before hanging up. "Wow, her concern for my availability is shocking." He grumbled hanging up. "Who was that?" Elizabeth asked. "Kerry. Boy, how it's nice to be needed." He added, rolling his eyes. "I have to go in early. I'll drop you at your house and go in ok?" Elizabeth looked at him in disbelief. "Robert, you could have a concussion. You can't go." "Which makes it a good thing I am going into a hospital huh?" he said interrupting her. With no further debate Romano set the car into drive and slowly made his was to Elizabeth's house.  
  
After parking in her driveway he waited for her to get out. Elizabeth had held the towel on his head the entire drive. Letting it down she saw his cut had almost stopped bleeding. "I did have a good time Robert." She added. "Yeah after me almost drowning you, I'm sure you did." His tone now harsh. "I'm not talking about that." Elizabeth smirked as she came up to kiss him again. Romano turned into her as her lips met his. There was no hesitation this time as he brought his tongue to touch hers, her warmth now flooding him. Leaning over, Romano softly caressed her throat as he pushed against her. Elizabeth loved his touch. She took her own hand and brought his down onto her chest, over her heart. The moment might have lasted forever if Romano's beeper hadn't interrupted them.  
  
Breaking away slowly Romano kissed the tip of her nose. "I have to go." Elizabeth nodded. "I know. My offer still stands for tonight though." She added before gathering her things. This placed a coy smile on his face. "I know. I'll try, but don't wait up ok?" With that Elizabeth opened the door. She fought through the rain and made her way inside her house. Before she closed the door she turned around and gave a small wave, while Romano winked back. Once safely inside she stood in her doorway, dripping wet, until she couldn't see his car anymore. She hadn't felt true happiness in so long, she was glad she had found it again. Somewhere Elizabeth knew Romano would probably not end his night at her house. However, she also knew that no matter how long it took, she'd always wait up. 


	11. One Long Shift

An All American Love Story Ch. Eleven: One Long Shift  
  
***Warning, there is 'R' language in this chapter.  
  
Romano parked in the second floor of the parking deck; he couldn't believe all the rain. He had arrived at county twenty minutes after Weaver originally called him. His beeper had gone off five times in the ten minutes it took to drive from Elizabeth's house to the hospital, he knew who it was and didn't bother answering it. Between his head and the rain, he needed to focus on driving, not getting bitched at by Kerry. When he walked into County he was already not feeling well, but the odor of mildew and blood was almost enough to make him gag. A thin layer of water rushed in with every person who walked through the door, it was the worst he had seen it. There were people in gurneys that lined the halls all the way to the admit desk. "Dear God" he muttered to himself not knowing who had walked up behind him.  
  
"God doesn't have much to do with it, but you do." Romano heard over his shoulder. "Who could that be? My conscience maybe? No, the sound is too annoying.oh wait! It's Kerry!" he snarked as he turned around. "Robert I don't want to hear it. When I tell you to be in you better come!" She snapped back. Recoiling from her attack Romano lost his newfound feeling of kindness and popped off again. "Well I'm here aren't I? So why don't you shut your mouth about it and let me get to work."  
  
"Oh go for it, now that we are in up to our ass in patients, dive right in."  
  
"Oh don't blame me for this! Why don't you close us to trauma?"  
  
"Why don't you let me worry about that and you go play doctor."  
  
Romano bit his tongue. He had a great insult lined up, but thought back to the last fight they had. He knew he might win verbally, but nothing would matter since she was still his boss. Calming his voice a little he looked to change the subject. "Can I at least get my head sutured?" "Sure." Weaver added, in the same snippy tone as before. "Stand in line." She pointed at the waiting room before walking away. Romano looked and noticed the huge mass of people. "It's going to be a long night." He said before grabbing the trauma that came in behind him.  
  
He had just walked the gurney down the hallway before Pratt grabbed it as they walked into trauma room one. "It's all me Doc." He added as he greeted Romano. Pratt looked up at Romano, he was soaking wet and his head had started to bleed again. "Go on old man, get cleaned up and grab the next one." Pratt said with his usual cocky smile. Romano was going to fight it just because he hated Pratt. However, as he took a step forward he felt a rush of dizziness. "Maybe I did hit my head pretty hard." He thought to himself as he exited the room. He leaned his back against the wall and looked down at himself. His white, long sleeve shirt was clinging to his sides, as were the pants he was wearing. When he went to walk he saw some water squirt out from his tennis shoes. "Great." He thought. Romano slowly made his way to the closet, where he grabbed some dry scrubs. As he was leaving he bumped into Abby.  
  
"Dr. Romano, what happened?" she asked in a more shocked then concerned voice. "Wow, I guess it looks as bad as it feels." He remarked, blinking a blood drop out of his eye. "Do you know how to suture yet?" he asked, trying hard not to sound condescending. Abby nodded. "I'll have to do it in the lounge though, there are no open rooms anywhere. I'll meet you in there." She added before going to find a kit. Romano walked into the lounge and flopped down on the couch. He sighed as he relaxed into the worn green leather. The surgical lounge was much nicer.  
  
Within seconds Abby was in with a suture kit and some gauze. She grabbed a chair and pulled it in front of him. "There are already sutures in here, did you reopen the lac?" she asked kindly as she put on her gloves. "Yeah I hit it again. I think it's a little deeper this time though." He managed to grumble out. For some reason sitting down had made him feel worse then he had before. Abby nodded as she gave him a shot of Novocain. Sporadically she looked down at his eyes, "I think you have a concussion too. Are you sure you should be working up patients?" All Romano had to do was give her a look and the question was answered. While he watched her work Romano realized he really didn't dislike Abby as much as he let her think. That was true of most people though. Thirty stitches later Abby was done, and not a moment too soon.  
  
Lydia burst into the lounge, "We need you guys! Someone jumped in front of the El, he's at the door now!" she yelled as both Abby and Romano got to their feet. "Thanks Abby." Romano got out before they both ran out of the lounge and were greeted by the trauma gurney. "Page Carter!" Romano yelled as he listened to the paramedic tell him the patient's sats. Romano led the gurney into trauma room two and preceded to bark out orders to Carter, who had just joined them. After a difficult intubation and a central line, the three of them tried to look for the man's most critical injury. "You page surgery?" Carter asked a nurse as he stabilized the patient's neck. Just as Abby turned him over the machines started to scream. "He's in v-tech!" Abby yelled as she laid the man back down. Romano looked over at the nurse, "Charge the paddles! Let's go!"  
  
In the next room Pratt's patient was stable. He looked over and watched all the commotion of trauma room two. Feeling it was his duty to help he walked in. "What can I do?" he asked in his usual cocky voice. Without looking over Romano answered him with a snap, "We've got it. Clear!" he yelled as he set the paddles and shocked the patient's chest. This hostility annoyed Pratt. He quickly gloved up and slid over next to Romano, accidentally pushing him. "Damn it Pratt! Don't you listen?" Romano yelled as the paddles charged again. "Clear!" The patient jumped again as the electricity surged through his heart. "I said back off!" Romano spoke more forcefully this time, pushing Pratt back with his shoulder.  
  
Carter noticed what was going on, and could foresee it ending badly. "He still hasn't gotten a rhythm, charge again?" he asked Romano, making it clear to Pratt that Romano was the doctor in charge. Romano shook his head as he tried to focus again. "Yeah, charge to 320." Feeling the mood change Pratt walked over to the patient's head. "So Carter, what you want me to do?" Carter shot him a look before Romano shocked the paddles again. This time there was a rhythm. "All right." Carter said aloud, "Let's get this boy stabilized." Romano nodded. "Abby, this man's femurs are both broken, what is the first thing we should check for?" Romano asked. "Pulse in the foot." She quickly responded. "Make it so. Carter, let's tap this guy's belly for blood so we can tell the surgeons what to look for." Carter nodded as he grabbed the lavage kit. Romano looked around; everyone was doing their job brilliantly.  
  
A few seconds after Carter made the small incision the patient's pressure dropped sending the machines back into a shrill scream. "Let's get two units of O in here and find some type specific." Romano started, "He's bleeding from somewhere, we have to find it." The last remark was directed at Carter but Pratt used it as an opportunity to barge in. He scooted back in next to Romano. "Try the." Pratt tried to speak but was cut off again. "God damn it get the fuck away." Romano yelled, shoulder checking Pratt backwards.  
  
"I'm just trying to help you little weasel."  
  
"We don't need any help. You're just pissing me off!" Romano yelled before turning back to his patient.  
  
"Look you little midget, it's not my fault I'm a better doctor then you!" This remark spun Romano around on his heels. "You just don't listen! Get out!" he yelled back. Carter, trying to save the patient, decided to stand behind Romano. "Pratt! Go find something else to do!" Now, being given an order by two doctors, he finally decided to listen, but not before adding one last insult. "You know, I didn't think the hospital was covered to let washed up, gimp doctors work on people." This sent Romano over the edge. Before Pratt could turn around, Romano swung his right fist, connecting with Pratt just under his jaw. This sent them both to the floor. After they both landed Pratt grabbed Romano's shirt and brought him into a head butt, breaking his nose. He rolled over on top of Romano, slamming his back against the ground.  
  
After being slammed twice on the linoleum Romano brought his foot up and kicked Pratt squarely in the chest, sending him back into the pulse ox machine. Before Pratt could reach his feet Carter had him by the arm, and Luka joined them, pulling Romano back to the floor. Hearing the yelling from admit, it didn't take Kerry long to walk in. "What the hell is going on?" she yelled as she looked around the room. Abby was doing chest compressions on the patient while Pratt and Romano lay on the ground, being held back by Carter and Luka.  
  
"Everybody up!" she yelled again. "Carter, Luka, you two take over. Romano and Pratt, outside now!" Quickly all members did as they were told. As soon as the doors closed from the trauma room Kerry was yelling out reprimands. "What the hell do you think you two are doing?" she asked rhetorically. "I have two of my doctors fighting, while a patient is in V- tech? I don't fucking believe it!" By now the whole of the hospital staff was staring at the three of them. "I don't want to know what brought this on, and frankly I don't care." She quickly shifted things over to Romano as she pointed her finger at him as she spoke. "Robert, you are a senior attending. You should know better then to put a patient's life at stake while you go duke it out with a resident!" Romano opened his mouth, trying to explain his actions, but was interrupted again by Weaver, "And I don't want to hear your excuses! You are suspended until further notice." Romano closed his mouth after he heard her words. He looked around. The whole hospital had come to a stand still as they all stared at him. "Now do you have anything else to add before you go home?" she asked him. Romano couldn't speak. He knew if he opened his mouth he would loose he job. Instead he shook his head as the muscles in his jaw clenched together. He threw off his trauma gown before he walked past Kerry and headed for the door. "And Robert!" Kerry shouted before he could reach the exit. Romano didn't turn around; instead he just stopped to listen. "If you ever pull this again, you're fired."  
  
Romano couldn't stop the muscles in his body from twitching. He was so angry he couldn't even think. Leaving his things in the hospital lounge he walked out into the rain for his car. Back inside the hospital a cocky smile formed on Pratt's face. Kerry was about to turn and go back to work until she saw it. "And as for you." She said, snapping Pratt's head back to her direction. "You're suspended too. Get out." Pratt's mouth dropped open as he walked back to admit trying to explain his actions away to Kerry. Back in the trauma room Carter, Luka, and Abby had gotten the man stable enough to transfer to the OR. After he was Abby went to clean up. "I can't believe Pratt, what an asshole. He deserved to be hit." She said to Luka. "That's the first time I have even seen Romano not have something to say to Kerry." Luka responded back. Abby touched his shoulder before walking back into the hallway. "Oh I'm sure he had something to say, he was just smart enough to not do it for once."  
  
Romano sat in his car. He couldn't believe such a good day had ended so bad. He concentrated on his breathing, trying to calm himself down before starting the drive home. To his surprise he had been at the hospital longer then he had thought. He came in a little after five and it was now almost nine. Finally he felt he was calm enough to safely drive home. Romano wiped his hand on his scrub top before clenching the steering wheel. It hadn't taken him long to learn how to do most things with one hand, least of all drive. He pulled out of his spot and made his way out of the hospital garage into the street.  
  
There was no one on the road driving, which was strange for Chicago, even with the miserable weather. Romano drove to his house on autopilot. His mind was still racing with past events. He knew he should have held his temper, but it had been a long time coming with Pratt. He tried to convince himself that Pratt's words weren't true. Finally he pulled into his garage. He quietly made his way upstairs and into the shower. Placing his hand against the wall he leaned into the showerhead as it sprayed his body with steaming hot water. After a strangely refreshing shower he threw on an undershirt and some loose flannel pants before he walked downstairs. Romano searched through his refrigerator for some dinner. Unfortunately he had not gone shopping like he planned and didn't have anything substantial to eat.  
  
He rubbed his face as he rolled his neck along his shoulders thinking of what to do. After ordering from his favorite Chinese restaurant, Romano called for Gretel and sat down on his couch. His big shaggy dog hopped up too, laying her massive head on his lap as he turned on the TV. Not finding anything on he grabbed the remote for his stereo, he always liked music better anyway. The first CD in his track would work just fine. He closed his eyes as Hootie and the Blowfish belted out soothing melodies.  
  
Shortly after ten Romano's doorbell rang. Gretel got up to bark, but with a single command from her master she quickly stopped and laid back down. Romano grabbed his wallet from the desk and opened the door. "$10.50 right?" he started to say before he looked up. There, standing in the rain, was Elizabeth holding his Chinese food. She looked pissed off and extremely concerned at the same time. "I paid the delivery boy for your dinner. He just drove off." She told him. "Can I come in?" 


	12. Waiting Up

An All American Love Story Ch. Twelve: Waiting Up  
  
Romano stared at Elizabeth. He wanted to be alone, but didn't have the heart to tell her to go away. He would tell anyone else, but not Elizabeth. Without a word he moved out of the way so she could walk in. Romano shut the door and turned to face her. "What are you doing here?" he asked. He tried very hard not to make his voice sound as hostile as he felt. Elizabeth, still holding the Chinese food, had originally been upset at Robert for starting a fight. She knew his temper, and at first, assumed he deserved what he got. However after she took a good look at him and how upset he seemed to be, her heart melted. She sighed as she answered him. "Abby told me what happened. I came to see if you were ok." Romano just nodded as he walked past her. "Are you hungry? You want some of this?" came his voice from the kitchen. "No." Elizabeth spoke back. "I already had dinner much earlier."  
  
Romano walked into the living room with a fork and a bottle of beer. Elizabeth followed him in and sat down after she handed him the box of food. Romano set the food in his lap and went to open his beer. Noticing the black bruises under his eyes, Elizabeth brought her hand up to touch his face. "Did he break your nose?" she asked as Romano recoiled from the pressure of her fingers. "Yeah." Romano managed to get out before gulping down half of the bottle of alcohol. "It doesn't matter. It's not the first time I've broken it." he said again before he killed off the rest of the bottle and got up to get another one. "You should have really thought before picking a fight with Pratt. If I had known I would have gotten in on it." she joked. Standing in the doorway Romano sniped some more. "Well knowing Weaver, I'll have about a week of suspension to think about it."  
  
When he returned he slumped down into the sofa, letting his head and shoulders lean forward. He dropped his head into his hand and sighed deeply. Elizabeth, noticing his tension, scooted in behind him and began to rub his shoulders. "So you want to tell me what happened?" Elizabeth softly asked. Romano, annoyed at the question, shrugged her off his shoulders and scooted over, leaning back into the couch. After seeing the concern in her eyes he decided it was better to say something. "Look, I don't want to get into this with my girlfriend, and certainly not tonight." He answered coldly, reaching for the beer that sat in front of him. That normally would have ended the conversation but Elizabeth felt closer to him tonight so she tried again. Taking the bottle from his hand she asked the question from another angle. "How about just telling your friend then?" Romano shook his head. He couldn't believe she wouldn't let it go. Snapping his head to the side to look at her he curtly responded. "Didn't you know? Rocket Romano doesn't have friends."  
  
His sarcasm stung Elizabeth as he got up and walked back into the kitchen. Thinking he was coming back Elizabeth remained seated on the couch. However after several minutes she got up to go find him. She didn't see him in the kitchen or anywhere else. Her heart sped up a beat as she yelled his name. "Robert! Where are you?" After looking around more, she noticed the glass door that led to his porch was cracked open. "Robert?" she asked before walking through. She found him sitting down on the wooden porch, with his back against the rail, drinking another beer. He looked worse then she had noticed at first. Looking at him now, aside from the obvious injuries, it was becoming clear to her that there was something else wrong besides a busted face. Without looking up, Romano spat out one of his usual witty remarks. "You know that's the third time you've yelled my name in one day? I think it's grounds for a breakup." Not being amused at his joke she sat down next to him.  
  
She wrapped her arms around herself. Although it had finally stopped raining, the December night was still extremely cold. "How did you get that nickname Rocket?" Elizabeth questioned with a smile. "One of your girlfriends give it to you?" To that Romano finally cracked a smile. "I wish." He sighed, the smile now gone from his face. "It was from swim team. I was as fast as a rocket." He said, quickly moving his hand in a line. Romano gazed out over his lakeside view. "It's funny. We are like the only state that's not on the coast but still has a beach." he said pointing to the sandy strip that traced around the lake. Elizabeth looked out. It was an amazing view. She opened her mouth to speak again but was interrupted as Romano started first. "You know I don't think this is going to work out." He stated matter of factly, moving his finger between the two of them. Now curious, Elizabeth decided to bite. "And why's that?" Romano tilted his head back before he answered. "Because I'm bitter and lonely and you're." he stopped before finishing and brought his eyes back down to look at her. "You're not." Leaning his head back again he waited for Elizabeth to speak. Not knowing if he was joking, she was shocked by his words.  
  
"Maybe I should go." She remarked, waiting for his reaction. Still keeping his eyes closed and head back he answered her before he had a chance to think about it. "Well you know what they say. The only thing better than drinking is drinking alone." Elizabeth pressed her jaws together. She had wanted to help him, but the combination of his declining sobriety and his bad mood had made her too upset to stay. Wordlessly she got up and left. The past week had been so much fun for her, but Romano's current disposition had made her hurt worse than he would know.  
  
Romano winced as he heard his door slam. He hadn't planned on that kind of ending for the evening. After he finished his third beer he got his feet underneath himself and stood up. "What a night." He whispered to himself before going back inside. He went back into the living room and sat on his couch. As he knocked back a shot of whiskey he put his feet up and looked across the room. Even though it was dark the small light from his doorway was enough to let him see that Elizabeth hadn't made it out of his driveway. She was sitting in her car wiping a tear from her face. Romano just closed his eyes. He couldn't deal with another person's problems now, even if he was the one who caused them. "How can she be that upset over me?" he asked himself. Only Elizabeth knew the answer. The truth was, that beneath what everyone else saw of Robert she saw something different and always had. Something that she loved. 


	13. Falling at the Beach

An All American Love Story Ch. Thirteen: Falling at the Beach  
  
The next week drug on. Romano and Pratt were off of suspension, both stuck working the graveyard shifts, and Elizabeth was counting down the days to Christmas. She hadn't heard from Romano since the night at his house, and because of his late hours it didn't look like she would see him at the hospital for at least a month. Sitting alone at her house, Elizabeth was enjoying the morning. The weather had finally cleared up, and although it was still cold, one couldn't tell from all the sun. She was happy that all she had to do today was finish up some dictations at County and then meet her parents for their usual pre-Christmas get together. Although Elizabeth didn't totally relish spending many hours with them both together, it would be a welcome change from spending the days alone.  
  
She finished her tea and began to get Ella ready for Chris. Elizabeth couldn't bare to have Ella spend the whole day being drug around listening to her grandparents bicker. Instead Chris was taking her to the zoo and then having a spend the night at her house. Although Chris didn't know the exact situation that she had gone on with Romano, she knew that Elizabeth needed one night with just some quiet. Just as Elizabeth had gotten Ella out of her highchair she heard the doorbell ring. She went to answer it and was shocked to find an extremely sick looking babysitter. "Chris, what's wrong?" Elizabeth asked her. "Oh I'm sorry Dr. Corday." She began to explain. "I just came to tell you that I don't think I can take care of Ella today. It seems I've come down with the flu. I tried to call but your phone was busy." Listening, Elizabeth managed to keep the horrified expression off her face. "I found another sitter." Chris began to explain again. "But she is only free at six thirty and after. I'm really sorry."  
  
Without another excuse Elizabeth wished Chris well and told her to see a doctor.her own doctor. Her day had officially taken a turn for the worse. Elizabeth quickly strapped Ella into the car and took off for County. Maybe someone there could help her out. As she entered the hospital the nursing staff began to coo over Ella like they do with all the kids. Ella had somehow managed to fall asleep during the ride and was still groggy. "Lydia, is daycare open yet?" Elizabeth asked. After she got done tickling Ella she finally responded. "Oh they're not. After the flooding happened daycare had to close until County could get rid of the mildew." Elizabeth almost rolled her eyes out of her head. "Oh bloody perfect!.Carter!"  
  
Elizabeth caught him before he had a chance to slip out the front door. "Are you free tonight?" Elizabeth asked, forcing a pleasant smile onto her face. Quickly realizing what his answer would bring he grabbed for Abby who was at his side. "No.Abby and I are going to a Bull's game." Shocked Abby looked up at him. "Oh cool." Seeing the distressed look about her Carter decided apologizes were in order. "Sorry Elizabeth. Try Susan. She's off at four I think." Elizabeth waved at the two before they left. Four would be too late.  
  
After all the nursing staff told Elizabeth about their various shopping plans or other engagements her heart sunk as she came to the conclusion that she was going to have to cancel with her parents and hear how she was always too busy, or face the wrath of them coming to her house. After she had given up, Elizabeth made her way up to the surgical floor to go sit in her office. As she unlocked her door she heard two familiar voices around the corner. "Kerry, although I appreciate the fact that you only put me out of work for a week.without pay, I would rather be sent to the fourth ring of hell then have to work the graveyard with Pratt!" Elizabeth stifled her chuckle as she continued to listen. "Well Robert, you're going to have to learn how to share with the little boys before you can play with the big ones." Was the only explanation Weaver gave him. "Look you've got a week off for Christmas and new years so just deal with the fact that you pissed me off and you're going to be doing the scut work for awhile."  
  
Soon after that, Elizabeth began to hear footsteps coming in her direction. Within seconds Romano came steaming around the corner like usual. As soon as his eyes rose above ground level he noticed Elizabeth standing at her door and slowed to a quick shuffle. Elizabeth noticed the change and looked up also. Although she had almost forgotten why she had gotten so upset over him during the week, seeing his face tugged at her heart, and reminded her of the reason. "Hello Robert.you remember Ella?" Without an emotion on his face Romano nodded and gave a wink in the little child's direction. He came to a stop a few feet in front of her. Romano waited several moments for some kind of response from Elizabeth. He still didn't feel like explaining all his feelings and reasons for the things happening the way they did the other week, so instead he waited for her to make a move. After she didn't he again glued his eyes to the floor and started back down for the elevator.  
  
Seeing an opportunity Elizabeth called his name. "Robert, wait!" Romano turned around immediately. "What are you doing today?" she stated again. Romano walked back up to her, letting a small grin form on the side of his lips. "I'm free. Just heading home now." Being quick, trying not to let him get the wrong impression Elizabeth finished her thought. "Then can you baby-sit Ella for me? I have several plans today and the sitter called in sick." The smile fell off of his face like a collapsing building. That wasn't what he expected. For the second time in a week, Romano decided to hold the snark he had coming and go for the reasonable. "I forgot, I do have plans tonight. Isn't there anyone else you could ask?" he said back, still keeping his emotionless expression. Shifting Ella in her arms something in Elizabeth snapped. "If there was I wouldn't have asked you." Came the cold reply.  
  
Romano's mouth dropped. He was going to let her have it. As he opened his snark memory bank Ella let out a soft giggle and reached for the gold stethoscope that hung around his neck. His eyes gradually moved from Elizabeth's face to the tiny fingers that reached out for him. He knew he owed her a favor; he might as well repay it while they were still speaking. "How long do you want me to watch her?" he asked. Letting out a sigh of relief she looked down to her watch. "From now until about six thirty. The other sitter will pick her up at your house then, just call this number and give her your address." Romano nodded taking the phone number she pulled out of her pocket. Elizabeth shifted Ella again, and then shot Romano a look to why he was still standing there. "So you want me to take her right?" he said holding out his arm.  
  
"Oh yeah." She said, handing her baby over. Elizabeth went over the checklist in her head. "Ella usually eats come kind of cracker at about ten then some soup at about twelve thirty. After that she'll want to nap. When she wakes up just." She was cut off by Romano walking away. "I think I got it Lizzie. No worries." He grumbled out before strolling into the elevator. Even though he wasn't sure that he had it, he was going to let Elizabeth think it.  
  
Elizabeth walked into her office and sat down. She hated being angry with anyone, even Romano. Somehow that night had changed him. Although he was still giving out his witty remarks, he seemed to have lost something, and it made her scared. Romano walked quickly through the ER. He didn't really want too many people to see him leaving with a baby. He had worked hard for his tough image, he didn't want to loose it now. Once he reached his car he realized a problem. He didn't have a car seat. Although he was confident in his driving abilities he didn't want Ella moving around while he was on the road. "Oh shit." He said aloud, waking Ella with the tone in his voice.  
  
Ten minutes later Romano and Ella were seated on the el train, slowly making their way to his house. She was being good for being with a stranger. Although Romano was confident it was not his charm that she was attracted to as much as the stethoscope that still hung on his neck. After a twenty-minute train ride her enthusiasm was fading fast. Hearing the murmurs of a cry Romano began to rock her back and forth on his knee. Still having no effect he wished he had let Elizabeth finish her tantrum about what Ella liked.  
  
Ella was now screaming at a full out cry. With all the people on the train giving him dirty looks, Romano got off at the next stop, five blocks from his house. Juggling Ella in one hand while reaching for his keys, he was just thankful that it wasn't raining. Finally getting inside Romano's arm was about to give way. Quickly he sat Ella down on his couch while he went to fix her some crackers.and his house for the night.  
  
Elizabeth's day was going well. She had met her parents on time, for once, at a nice restaurant where they all had lunch. After a few hours of shopping and showing them the highlights of Chicago, they were back at her house before going out for dinner. Elizabeth didn't worry anymore about entertaining them every second. The constant bickering was more then enough to suffice until she was dressed. While at the restaurant, she was bombarded by the usual questions about her work and love life. Because she was still confused about the second, and the fact that her father loathed Romano, she left it out all together.  
  
After another rousing bout of personal comments Elizabeth gazed at her watch. It was going on eight and she had, had enough and was searching for a reason to leave. "I'm afraid I have to check up on Ella." She quietly commented before excusing herself from the table. It was the only excuse these days that both her parents bought. Elizabeth could still hear them talking at the table as she walked over to the payphones and dialed the number she had written down. "Hello, Mrs. McKella? Yes this is Elizabeth Corday. I was just checking in on my daughter Ella, and I wanted to tell you that I should be over within the hour to pick her up." After several seconds of silence the woman on the other line began to speak. "Well I'm afraid there has been some mistake. No one ever called me about Ella. I never picked her up."  
  
Instantly a rush a panic swept through Elizabeth. Had something happened? "I'm sorry I have to go." Was the best reply she could give the woman before hanging up. Elizabeth quickly told her parents goodbye, with the promise of another meeting before they left, and was out the restaurant and into her car. Not even thinking of calling, she began the drive over to Romano's house faster then she should have. She was going to kill him if he let something happen to her baby. All the possible situations rushed through her mind while she was in the car. Had he forgotten? Gotten drunk? Revenge maybe? "No, no, no" she said to herself. There had to be a logical explanation for all of this. At least there better be.  
  
Pulling up to his house Elizabeth noticed two extra cars in the driveway. "So maybe he wasn't lying about having plans." She thought, "But he better not be having a party while my daughter is over." Almost running out of her car, Elizabeth's feelings ranged somewhere in between blinding fear and extreme anger. She jammed her finger into the doorbell, ringing it several times. No dog's bark greeted her as she waited for the sound of feet. After ringing the bell another time, just for good measure, she finally heard someone fiddling with the doorknob. Just as she opened her mouth to bombard Romano with foul language she noticed the greeter wasn't him at all.  
  
A middle-aged woman in a wheelchair greeted her at the door. She was stunningly beautiful. With reddish brown hair that was cut just below her collarbone, her thin disposition and smile made her look nothing like Romano. "Can I help you?" she asked. This snapped Elizabeth out of the thought she was in. "Oh, I'm looking for Robert Romano. I think I have the wrong house." Elizabeth said looking around. This made the woman's smile even bigger. "No, I'm Laura Romano, Robert's sister. He's down by the lake with his dog." Elizabeth nodded and left without introducing herself. She was too upset with Romano at the moment to be cordial.  
  
When she reached the sand she could see the shadow of Romano. He was sitting down near the lake edge tossing the stick for Gretel. Elizabeth took no time to walk over to him. Once she got a suitable distance to him she began to yell. "How dare you! You scared me half to death!" Romano turned around as he heard her voice. He raised his eyebrows and spoke back. "Nice to see you too Lizzie." His sarcasm was very under appreciated at the current juncture. Noticing Elizabeth walking closer to him, Romano stood to meet her. "How irresponsible can you be? What were you thinking not letting me know where my child is?" Romano was shocked as he listened to Elizabeth yell. He didn't think that having Ella stay with him would get this kind of reaction. "I'm sorry! I just didn't think." he started before Elizabeth interrupted him. "Exactly! You didn't think! You don't have a child and you don't understand what a big deal it is to say to someone, to say to me, you will take care of a child and then screw up!"  
  
"I didn't screw up! I just."  
  
"You just didn't think! You just never think! Whether it's about someone's child, someone's feelings." by now Elizabeth had started to cry. She knew Romano didn't deserve all of this for tonight, but he did for leaving things the way he did on their last meeting. "I just can't believe how stupid I was!" Elizabeth shouted, turning away from him and ending her tirade. "For what!" Romano yelled back. He was as equally as angry now. "For trusting you!" As Romano heard what she said he quickly came to the realization that Elizabeth wasn't just talking about tonight. "I was wrong to ever trust you! I don't know what made me think you were capable of taking care of anyone but yourself."  
  
This was it for Romano. He was tired of getting yelled at. Before Elizabeth could get another insult out he tossed away any qualms he had about yelling back. "Then go the fuck inside and get her!" he spat out before turning around and throwing the stick he had in his hand as hard as he could. Elizabeth stood frozen trying to replay the situation in her head. She felt the wind blow against her as she watched Romano walk away. It had been the first time that night that she had felt cold. Replaying his last words, it became clear to her that they had been more hurt then angry, and after she watched him for a moment she was sure.  
  
The stick stopped with a thud in a fine layer of snow. Romano had inadvertently thrown it close to the frozen ice of the river scaring Gretel away from retrieval. "Damn dog." He mumbled as he walked over to the waterside. He bent down to pick up the stick. As he did his eyes caught a glimpse of a chunk of ice floating in the lake. Seeing it made a small grin form on his face as his thoughts ran back to their day at the ice rink. His memory was ruined by a tug at his arm. The touch came on his left side and made him jump. He turned to capture the sad image of Elizabeth's tearing eyes. Romano tried hard to change his attitude towards her, but anger always made him do strange things.  
  
Elizabeth didn't want to apologize for everything, since she felt she was right, but perhaps about the timing. "Are you ok?" was the best she could some up with. Romano rolled his eyes. "You don't care. You made your point very clear Elizabeth so why don't you just leave." He added, with the right amount of sneer. He wouldn't give in that easy to her. She deserved to feel bad and he would make sure she did. "Robert look. I was mad and I'm sorry for coming over and yelling like that but you don't know how badly you frightened me.just like last week." She ended on a softer note.  
  
Romano shot her a look of resentment. "Why the hell do you care about last week? That had nothing to do with you.and it's over!" he said, putting back the tension in his throat. Elizabeth let her head drop. She knew the conversation could end badly, but if she let it go like she knew Romano wanted, it would never be brought back up. "Because I care about you. That makes me want to know when you have a bad day, or why you started a fight." Romano started to pace as she was talking. He was fed up. Never in his life had he been one to pour out emotions, and he certainly wouldn't start now. After all, he had let his guard down with her before, and he still remembered how it ended. "Pratt pissed me off! That's all there is to it. I messed up and I paid the price." All Romano wanted her to do was let it go. He was much better working with anger then he was with any real emotion.  
  
Elizabeth took the stick from his hand and moved to walk away. She only got about twenty feet before she found a spot in the sand with no snow and sat down. Having the stick made the shaggy dog come bounding towards her. Romano was livid. He knew Elizabeth wasn't going away unless he told her something. Walking over a few feet closer to her he began to talk. "Pratt just reminded me of what scares me the most. Things I could never say, for fear that they would happen. I know everyone thinks them but when I heard it for the first time, I just lost it." his voice was now soft, barely audible in the wind. Walking closer to her, Romano reached for his dog, and ended up sitting down next to Elizabeth on the sand.  
  
Feeling he was trying to let her in Elizabeth reached for his hand, but Romano quickly moved it away. "You know that we are the only state with a beach."  
  
"Robert." Elizabeth said as she cut him off. She knew he was stalling. Romano took a deep breath. He promised himself a long time ago that he wouldn't fall so easily for someone, but sitting next to Elizabeth on the sand he could feel his exterior crumbling. "You know Lizzie, I tried for a long time to make a reputation for myself, and it was hard. I always had to be tough, and be the best." He stuttered as he shifted gears. "When we went out that first time I knew I was going to have to be cautious. I knew I couldn't get my heart broken again. Cause it can only break so much before you feel nothing at all. And I don't ever want to be like that, although I pretend I do." He stopped for a moment to lift his head up and look out into the night. It was beautiful. " I told myself that if all we ever were was friends, that I would be ok. That I wouldn't have to hurt. So I made a perfect plan." Stopping again, he removed the hat he was wearing and set it on his knee. Bringing his hand up to his face, he pinched the bridge of his nose before starting again. "That if I ended our relationship, you would hate me and I.I would never be in love with you. But sitting here tonight, I realize somehow I messed up... Cause I fell for you anyway." 


	14. A Family Affair

An All American Love Story Ch. Fourteen: A Family Affair  
  
Elizabeth's mouth dropped open. She didn't know what to say. Although it was dark the moonlight let her see the outline of his face. His head was down, pointed forward and he had his knees bent against his chest. From his disposition it was clear to her that she hadn't just gotten a line, it was from his heart.  
  
Romano could sense that tension he created, so he quickly attempted to change the feeling. Snapping his head up he rubbed his body. "What are we doing? It's cold!!!" He said, still looking forward. With that he patted Gretel's shaggy head and stood up. After he dusted the sand off of himself he stuck out his hand for Elizabeth to grab. "You want to come in?" he asked. His voice was still hard, but kinder then before. Elizabeth looked up at him. She was still trying to process what he had just told her. She could see Romano smiling, trying to pretend that their past conversation meant nothing at all, but she knew it was a cover.  
  
Not letting his offer pass Elizabeth reached up and grabbed his hand. Romano leaned back and pulled her up before they started the short walk back to his house. Before he got too far away Romano gave a quick whistle, which sent Gretel flying through the air, back up to the house. Romano was silent while he walked and played with the rim of his hat. Getting close now to the stairs that went to his porch Elizabeth wanted to say something before they went in. "I didn't know your family was coming over." She stated. Romano put his hat back on as he stepped on the stairs. "It's just my mother and sister. They are visiting from Philadelphia for a few days." He motioned for Elizabeth to go first up the stairs of his porch.  
  
She could feel him on the step behind her. It felt like forever until they reached the top. After scraping off his shoes Romano opened the door and they both walked into his house. Elizabeth was hit by a wave of heat from his running fireplace. She stood by the door where she had entered and looked at the two women in his living room. They were both looking at her with huge smiles. It was only after Romano had taken off his coat that he realized introductions were due.  
  
"Oh I'm sorry." Romano stated as he walked over to stand in the middle of the room. "Ma this is Lizzie Corday. We work together at County. Lizzie this is my mother Lynn." Elizabeth looked at the woman and gave a smile. "Pleasure." She said as she studied her features. The woman had flowing silver hair that was cut above her shoulders. She was very well dressed and her makeup looked perfect. Suddenly Elizabeth's gaze was redirected to the other woman who sat in her wheelchair by the fire. "Well I guess I shouldn't leave it up to my older brother to properly introduce me." She said wheeling herself forward. "I'm Laura, we met briefly before." She said sticking out her hand after she came to a stop. Elizabeth took it with a smile. "Yes I'm sorry about that. I was in a little bit of a .a rush."  
  
With that Romano quickly walked over to his mother. Elizabeth noticed Romano had his prosthetic on, it had been the first time in awhile. "Ma, do you want me to open up some wine?" he said sitting down next to her on the couch. "No actually we need to be leaving. Robin wants to get up early and see some of the sites before lunch and I'm afraid I'm feeling a little tired myself. Besides, I'll let you spend some time with your friend." Romano grinned at her as they stood up together. "Ok, well let me get your coats then." After Romano left his mother made her way across the room to stand next to Elizabeth. "It is very nice to finally meet you. Robert has said some nice things about your work." Elizabeth could feel herself blush. "He talks about me?" she asked back in a shy voice. "Oh yeah." Came a reply from his sister.  
  
It took only seconds before Romano was back with everyone's coats. "Ok everyone, lets leave Lizzie alone."  
  
"Why afraid of what we might tell her?" his sister joked.  
  
Romano scrunched up his face and joked back. "Afraid of what we might tell her?" he said in a high voice throwing her jacket at her. With a quick look from his mom Romano straightened up. "Here let me help you." He said, walking over to the wheelchair. As Romano helped his sister his mother looked at Elizabeth. "Some things never change." Elizabeth smiled and nodded. After they made their way to the door Romano disappeared again. He was back in a moment however, holding a sleeping little girl, about the age of eight. "I guess Gretel really got her tired huh Laura?" Romano said. His sister just nodded. With one swift movement Romano handed the child to his mother without her waking up. He gently placed a tiny coat over her back and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight sweetie."  
  
Romano opened the door and motioned for his mom to lead the way to the cars. He grabbed his sister's wheelchair and led her outside also. After he helped his mother into her car he stuck his head inside. "By ma." He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow." He pushed the door closed and moved over to his sister. He wheeled her over to the other side and knelt down by the chair. "I can do it Bobby." She said with force, opening the door. Elizabeth could tell from the doorway that she looked frustrated. Romano gave her a grin as he took her hand. "I know you can. But I'm your big brother and I like to help."  
  
After Romano had gotten her into the car he knelt down again. He held her hand as he talked to her. "Just call me if you need anything ok? I'll come over." "I know." She said back, buckling herself into her seat. With that Romano nodded and gave her a kiss before standing up. After the car started he made his way back to the doorway of his house. As the car pulled out of the driveway Romano's sister rolled down the window and waved at them both. "Be nice to her Bobby!" she said before they left. Romano just smiled as he walked back into the house.  
  
He closed the door and shivered. "Wow, it's colder then I thought." Elizabeth smiled as she finally got a good look at him. He looked better then he had this morning. Although he still had black bruises under his eyes and his nose was a little swollen, you could barely tell it was broken and although the cut on his head was still quite visible, it looked better then it had. He was dressed clean and casual in dark jeans and an off white sweater with his 76ers hat on his head. All of a sudden Elizabeth saw a smile appear on his face.  
  
"What are you staring at?" he asked her. Elizabeth blushed, embarrassed that he noticed. "Bobby huh?" she said smiling back. Romano brought his hand up to cover his face. " You know. Derived from Robert. Robert, Rob, Bob, Bobby." Romano grumbled, trying to keep his usual dry wit. "Only to my sister calls me that. I hoped you wouldn't pick it up." "Not a chance." Elizabeth stabbed back. Romano took a deep breath in and walked over to his couch to sit down. Elizabeth followed after him. She could feel the warmth from the fire. She sat down close next to him and slipped off her shoes. Turning her body to face him she tucked her legs under herself and melted down into the sofa. "Well I have plenty of scary rumors to spread about you." Romano stated again, attempting to break the silence. Elizabeth however, quickly switched gears. "You never told me Laura was parlayed." She said smoothing her hair back behind her ears. Romano rolled his head to look at her. "Well that's because it just happened. She was in an accident about five months ago. She just got done with PT." His tone was hard and short.  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "Where is her husband? I mean I take it that little girl is hers." Romano turned his head back to face forward. "Yeah Robin is hers. Her husband David was killed in the accident." He stated flatly. Romano now spoke in such a way that Elizabeth couldn't tell if he was indifferent or extremely upset. Scooting over closer, Elizabeth took his hand from his lap and set it on her knees. With both hands she examined his fingers with her eyes while she caressed them with her own. Strong and clean, they were clearly the fingers of a surgeon. His knuckles were scarred from years of use and turning his hand over she was surprised to find calluses on his fingertips. She didn't know how she never noticed it, his touch was always so soft.  
  
After a minute of watching her Romano couldn't take it anymore. He brought his hand up and drew a line on Elizabeth's face from her chin to the back of her jaw. Elizabeth waited for him to say something. She turned her face to look at him. Soon her eyes connected with his and she was lost in conversation with them. The expression they held spoke to her better then any words could ever do. As she looked into them she told herself that they were what she liked the best. She had always indulged in the fact that no matter how tough Romano tried to be she could always see through it by looking at his eyes. They always gave him away, just like they did tonight.  
  
After Elizabeth finished studying his eyes she fixed her gaze on his lips. Romano noticed the change and instinctively leaned forward to kiss her. He kept his hand on the side of her face as their lips met. At first Elizabeth kept her hands at her side, however soon the simple kiss accelerated into something more. As she felt him deepen the kiss she reached up to grab his sweater. Feeling him slightly lean into her she slowly leaned back to lay down on the couch, bringing him with her, his hat dropping to the floor. Romano let his weight rest on top of her and he moved his hand from the side of her face to rest behind her head. Elizabeth looked for a place to put her own hands. Gently she felt her way to the bottom of his shirt and moved her fingers inside it to rest on his warm stomach. She could feel the pulsing of his heartbeat in her palms.  
  
His laugh broke their kiss. "Your hands are cold." He said, smiling into her face. Elizabeth didn't remove them; instead she went farther up his shirt and rested them on his back, pulling him back to her face again. The heat from her hands made Romano's heart accelerate. As he felt her fingers line his spine he let his body relax. It had been a long time since he had been happy. He was glad he had found it with her. Seconds later their moment was shattered by the sharp sound of a cry. Ella.  
  
Instantly Romano was up, sitting rigid against the fabric of the couch. He felt bad that he was still so uncomfortable with the Elizabeth. He was always fine until his brain caught up with his actions. Elizabeth sat up more slowly; she hadn't wanted their moment to end. "My mom brought over a crib for Ella. She is in the guest room down the hall." Romano said to her. He winced at his voice. It was cracked and dry, not how he wanted it to sound. Elizabeth nodded and stood up, taking his hand with her. Romano stood too when he felt the pull. He followed Elizabeth into the room where Ella lay crying. Both stood over the crib and looked down at the bundle. Elizabeth brought her other hand to rub Ella's stomach. "Shhh, my girl. Shh." Romano smiled as the cry became louder. "I think she wants to go home." He said with a sigh.  
  
Elizabeth grabbed for Romano's hand again and walked into the hall. "You're right." She said as he reached for their coats. She reluctantly put hers on as Romano looked at the floor. He hated moments like these. This was when he felt most vulnerable. After successfully zipping up her jacket Elizabeth's hands caught his side. She brought herself close to him, inches away from his face. She gingerly tilted her head up and kissed the cut above his eyebrow. In doing so she felt a tingle run up her spine as Romano's warm breath touched her throat. She brought her head back down and met his lips again. Her tongue slid across the cut on his bottom lip, finding it's way back inside his mouth.  
  
Painfully she pulled away. With his eyes still closed Romano reached out for her face, letting her soft skin melt into his hand. "Don't go." He whispered opening his eyes. Elizabeth smiled as they both heard Ella's cries again. Romano brought his tight lips into a smile. "Ok, I'll see you soon then." Before he had a chance to move away Elizabeth pulled him into a hug. She wrapped her hands around his waist and rested her head along his collarbone. For the third time she inhaled the sweet smell of his cologne. Bringing her head up to rest against his cheek, they stood for a second in their embrace. Elizabeth kissed his sideburn and spoke into his ear. "We'll finish this one day."  
  
A half grin crept onto his face and Romano took a step back. "Well I need to take a shower." He spouted, taking a step onto the stairs. "I trust you can get Ella." Elizabeth nodded and smiled back at him. "How about we get dinner tomorrow?" she asked after he climbed two stairs. "Only if you're paying." Romano snorted back. Once he reached the top of steps he turned around. "Goodnight."  
  
Then he silently glided into his bedroom. Romano waited until he heard Elizabeth leave before getting undressed. He turned on the water and stared into the mirror as it heated up. He hated the man he saw. The square jaw, solid chin, deep eyes. He hated it all. The reflection wasn't him, it was his father. Soon he could see steam floating out of the glass of the shower door. Romano stepped inside and let the burning liquid rush over his skin. It felt good to stand there, to be clean. To wash off everything. The hot air made his injured nose ache. Romano dropped his head and let the water run along his back. "I shouldn't have let her come in." He thought to himself. Gently he let his head hit the cool tile on the wall. He hated that he had broken the promise he had made so many years ago. He hated he had let someone in. It was just another opportunity to get hurt, and he had been hurt so many times.  
  
After several minutes of thinking on the matter something made him smile. A memory of Elizabeth. He smiled because he knew he liked her, because every time he saw her his heart sped up, because above everything else, because she liked him too. After he felt he had worked out his feelings he turned off the water. The coolness of the tile made him shiver as he reached for the fluffy towel that rested on the counter. After he was dried off, Romano slipped on his warm sweatpants that he liked to sleep in. Although it wasn't late enough for him to go to bed, he just wanted to be comfortable. Romano opened the door that separated his bathroom from his bedroom and walked through.  
  
His body shot back into the wall when his eyes caught a figure sitting on his bed. "Holy shit!" he yelled when his wet abdomen hit the counter. Quickly realizing who it was he was glad he had not walked out of his bathroom naked. He tried to slow his breath as his heart pounded out of his chest. He had always hated to be surprised. Within seconds of his reaction he had somewhat composed himself. "Lizzie, what the hell?" 


End file.
